Harry Potter and the New Beginning
by Mr. Atti2d
Summary: Harry's 6th year, picks up after OOTP. Definatively AU. Another year, another new DADA teacher. Will Harry discover The Power He Knows Not? HPGW
1. New Hope

Introduction 

Hello,

The world of Harry Potter is the sole property of JK Rowling. I am only borrowing it for enjoyment. I have read many other fanfics and have gotten some of my ideas from them. I am not intentionally stealing anyone else's ideas and if I do accidentally use one please remember that it was not done so intentionally or maliciously, and take it as a compliment that I liked the idea enough to run with it. Please also remember that many stories have been written and the chance of reusing an idea is probably pretty good. I hope that you enjoy my take on the Harry Potter universe. Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.

J. Nick

**Harry Potter and the New Beginning**

**Chapter 1 – New Hope**

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled as a jet of light hit him squarely in the chest causing him to fall in a graceful arc through the veil hanging from the arch.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, "SIRIUS!"

"There's nothing you can do, Harry," said a voice behind him, "He's gone."

The scene in front of Harry quickly changed. He was now in a graveyard with someone beside him.

"Kill the spare," said a high cold voice. Harry heard a swishing noise and a flash of green light followed by a heavy thud. He now looked into Cedric Diggory's open unmistakably dead eyes.

The scene changed again back to the Department of Mysteries. There was a Death Eater lying on his stomach who made a slashing movement with his wand emitting a streak of purple flame. It passed right across Hermione's chest and she crumpled to the floor where she lay motionless.

The scene changed again, this time to a dark room. Harry looked around to see a sobbing Mrs. Weasley on the floor looking at an unmistakably dead Ron. "Riddikulus!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed causing Ron to change into Bill, then to Mr. Weasley, then to the twins, then to Percy, then to Harry.

The scene changed back to the Death Chamber and Sirius falling through the veil. "There's nothing you can do, Harry. He's gone." A high cold laugh could be heard in the background.

Harry bolted strait up in bed and looked around trying to get his bearings, just as he had done every night for the last week. The memories from that fateful night were still fresh in his mind and the images still haunted his dreams. Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, had come to rescue Harry and his friends from the Department of Mysteries just a few short weeks ago and ended up dying himself, killed by his own cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. Tears welled up in Harry's eyes from both sadness and anger.

"It's all my fault," he thought. "If I had only tried harder to learn to block out the visions I could have prevented this!"

"_It's not your fault_," said a voice in his head, "_so stop trying to blame yourself."_

Harry was starting to learn that these arguments with himself were pointless, no mater how much he argued he just couldn't shake the guilt he felt. He knew that he would not be going back to sleep any time soon, the fear of another dream was just too much, so he just decided to get up and try to find a way to clear his head. He looked at the clock, it was 3:00, well he had slept a half hour longer than last night, and he supposed that was a positive thing. He continued to look around his room. There at the foot of his bed sat his trunk holding the majority of his personal belongings, he had not yet gotten the energy to unpack since he had returned to his aunt and uncle's house for the summer holiday. After the greeting his relatives, the Dursley's, had gotten as he got off of the train last weekend, they no longer had any desire to try to make his life uncomfortable for fear that more wizards would show up on their doorstep to give them trouble. The looks of sheer terror on Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and his cousin Dudley's faces were priceless, leaving no doubt in Harry's mind that they would gladly leave him alone rather than chance a visit from someone of his kind.

Other than the trunk, the only other sign of anything out of the ordinary was the empty owl cage sitting by the open window. Hedwig, his snowy owl, was off on her nightly flight. Harry got up and went over to the window to gaze about the neighborhood and get some fresh air, recalling the car ride back to Number Four Privet Drive. They had just begun to drive away from King's Cross when Uncle Vernon tried to start in on him.

"How dare you send your freak friends over to threaten me boy. I ought to just chuck you out on the street right now and be done with you."

"You would just be putting yourself in more danger if you did," deadpanned Harry.

"What do you mean? How much more danger can there be than what happened last year?"

"It's not that there is any more danger from the dementors, but it is the fact that the thing that keeps me safe while I am at your house keeps you safe there as well. Voldemort knows where you live and knows that as long as I return here at least once a year that he can not touch me here, so if I don't return here every summer for a little while then that protection would be gone and everyone here would be in danger."

The looks of fear mixed with anger and hatred from the Dursley's were all Harry needed to know that they would definitely leave him alone. The rest of the ride back to Privet Drive was quiet and uneventful allowing Harry to dwell on what had happened over the course of the previous year.

Harry stepped away from the window and turned to his desk upon which sat several pieces of parchment, letters from his friends. They had taken it upon themselves to write to Harry everyday trying to keep his spirits up. They knew that he was probably blaming himself for everything that happened and brooding over that fact and they knew it was just eating him up inside. They also knew that there was more going on than Harry was letting on, something had happened between Harry and Professor Dumbledore but neither was willing to talk to them about it. That was something that Harry just couldn't bring himself to tell them about. Harry had found out about a prophecy that was made about him putting the survival of the wizarding world on his shoulders, that in the end it would come down to either him or Voldemort. No, this was something that he could not tell his friends about yet. He had a hard enough time dealing with the thought himself. Could he really kill someone? He had wanted to once before and he couldn't bring himself to do it, would the same thing happen again? He had been unable to finish off Sirius Black at the end of his third year before finding out that his parents' other friend Peter Pettigrew was the cause of their deaths. Then he spared Peter from being killed by Sirius and Remus Lupin, only to allow him to escape to help Voldemort return to his body. He had even tried to use an unforgivable curse on Bellatrix Lestrange in the Department of mysteries to no avail. Would he really be able to kill Voldemort when the time came? This was what worried him the most; he just didn't know how he was supposed to fulfill the prophecy.

Harry lay back down on his bed and continued to ponder this dilemma for several hours. After awhile, he began to notice that it was getting considerably brighter outside and decided that he might as well get cleaned up and try to start his day. He showered and got dressed. Then he headed downstairs to get some breakfast. He just made himself some toast and a glass of juice seeing as how he wasn't really that hungry and he was hoping to finish quickly so he wouldn't have to endure his relatives. He was just finishing cleaning up his dishes when he heard someone knock at the door. It was still early on a weekend, why would anyone be calling at this hour. Deciding not to take any chances, he grasped his wand in his right hand and headed for the front door holding the wand behind him but ready to use it if necessary. He peered through the peephole in the door and was surprised to see a shabbily dressed man with graying hair. Was this really Remus Lupin standing on the front step?

Cautiously opening the door he asked, "what are you doing here Professor Lupin?'

"I came to visit with you for a while Harry," the slightly horse voice replied, "Can I come in?"

How could he be sure that this was really his old professor? "Who are Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"

"That would be me, your father James, your godfather Sirius, and a rat I would rather forget named Peter."

That was a stupid question to ask, Harry thought, since Wormtail was a death eater he would have known that information, what else could he ask? "What form does my boggart take?"

Remus smiled at this, "Ah, a much better question. Your boggart is a dementor. Now may I come in?"

"Sorry Professor, I just needed to be sure it was really you, come on in."

Harry opened the door and Remus stepped inside. Harry led him up to his room and closed the door behind them. Harry sat on his bed looking at Remus, who was sitting in the chair by his desk. Harry realized that Remus looked even older than he did mere days ago. Looking at this man made him feel even guiltier about the last few weeks. Not only had Harry lost his godfather; this man had lost his last friend from school, because of Harry's foolishness. Harry found it very difficult to look this man in the eyes.

"How are you doing Harry?" Remus asked.

"Fine" Harry replied untruthfully. "The Dursley's have left me alone, which is a major improvement if you ask me. Why are you really here? If you wanted to know how I'm doing you could have simply written me a letter."

"That is true, but your letters haven't had a whole lot of information in them. It seems like you are leaving a lot out. You know that your friends care about you a great deal don't you? They are very worried about your well-being. Is there anything that you would like to talk about?"

"I know they do. I'm just not ready to talk to them yet."

"You know talking to someone really helps you to feel better and allows you to move on. I know that Sirius would want you to be able to move on."

Harry just stared at Remus. How could he say that? How could he be so cold and heartless? This was supposed to be one of his best friends and he just wants to move on. What kind of crap was this?

"Move on? How can you say that? He was your best friend. How can you just move on? I thought that you of all people would understand how I feel, I mean you knew him longer than I did and are probably the only person who was closer to him than I was. How can you be so cold about this?" The anger was starting to build up in Harry.

Remus was slightly stunned by this comment. "Harry, I'm not being cold, and yes I did care about Sirius very deeply, but that doesn't mean I can't try to move on. Just because we move on doesn't mean we forget about someone. It means that we accept what has happened and try to keep going. I will miss Sirius incredibly, but I know that I cannot sit and dwell on what I lost. That would be a disgrace to his memory. Sirius was a man who loved life and cared very deeply for those people around him and I know for a fact that he would not want his friends to dwell on the loss, rather to celebrate his life. I also know that he would not want you to feel guilty about his loss, it was not your fault." From the dumfounded look on Harry's face Remus could tell he had hit the nail on the head.

"If I had just tried to learn to block him out, it never would have happened. How can you sit there and tell me it's not my fault? Because of my stupidity, the last of your best friends is gone forever, how can you stand to look at me? I can't even stand to look at me. How am I supposed to move on if I can't stand myself?" Harry's despair was starting to overwhelm him. "Every time I close my eyes I see death. Sirius, Cedric, mum and dad, how many more people are going to have to die because of me? Mad Eye Moody spent almost a whole year in a trunk because of me. MY BEST FRIENDS ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF ME!" With this last comment, Harry broke down and started to cry in earnest.

Remus quickly moved over to Harry and pulled him into a very fatherly hug. Harry tried to push away but was too weak and racked with guilt to have much effect. Remus just sat there holding him and trying to comfort him when the door opened.

"What the blazes are you on about…?" Uncle Vernon began only to freeze upon the sight of the older wizard in the room. "Sorry I didn't realize that the boy had company."

Remus said nothing to Vernon Dursley but just glared at him until he closed the door again and left them alone. He took a couple of deep breathes and began once again to talk to Harry.

"Yes, Harry, I will admit that those things happened because of you, but they are not your fault. The only person who is truly at fault for those things is Voldemort. He is the one who is doing these things. Yes, perhaps if you had practiced occlumency more you would have been able to block him out, but what would have happened if you had blocked him out at Christmas? You would not have seen the attack on Mr. Weasley and he most likely would have died. Would you blame yourself for that too? Don't you see that these are things that you could not control? It does not do to punish yourself like this when no one else feels that it is your fault. We love you Harry."

Harry continued to cry on the werewolf's shoulder for what seemed like an eternity, letting out all of the emotion that had been building up for weeks. How could this man seem to forgive him so easily? It didn't make any sense to him. How could no one fault him? After some time Harry's sobs began to fade.

"I wanted Dumbledore to just kill me."

This comment shocked Remus. "What do you mean?"

"In the Ministry of Magic, when Voldemort possessed me I just wanted Dumbledore to end it all for me so I could be with Sirius and my parents. I didn't want to feel the pain anymore and I didn't want to endanger my friends anymore. I just wanted to die." Harry got quieter as he spoke.

Now Remus began to feel tears in his eyes, it hurt so much that this young boy would wish to die. This was supposed to be a happy time in a person's life yet this young boy had already had more tragedy to deal with than most adults do ever.

"Harry, do you have any idea how many people would miss you if you would have died? You have had an impact on so many people's lives and I know that I would definitely not be able to deal with losing you."

"You know Harry; it just won't due to keep you her any longer. Remaining in the care of these people is not going to help you heal. We need to get you among people who love you and want you around."

Remus looked up to see Hedwig had returned and was watching the two of them on the bed. He got up, went over to the desk, took out some parchment, and began to write a note. He seemed to be thinking very hard about something. Almost as if, he was contemplating doing something rash. "Yes, it is time to get you among friends," and with that he wrote furiously and attached the letter to Hedwig's leg and sent her on her way. He then turned to Harry and said, "Pack up your stuff, it's time to leave."

Harry wasn't sure if he heard correctly, did he just say they were leaving? "Um, professor, I thought you were just here to check up on me. You didn't say anything about getting me out of here earlier."

"That is because when I first got here I did not plan on taking you anywhere, but now I know that you must leave this house and be amongst people who care about you. It will just not do for you to not realize how much you mean to people. Now come on, up you get, we are leaving."

Harry hesitantly got up and began to pack up his things with Remus's help. Since Harry hadn't really unpacked at all, packing didn't take long. Once they finished, Remus took out his wand and proceeded to shrink Harry's trunk so it would fit in his pocket then led Harry down stairs. They went to the front door and opened it to find Albus Dumbledore standing on the front step.

"Good morning," said the old wizard as he stepped inside and closed the front door. "What do you think you are doing Remus? You know that Harry needs to remain in this house. His safety and well-being depends on it."

"Remaining here may keep him physically safe but it does nothing for his emotional well-being!" Remus snapped. "These people do not care about Harry! He needs to be around people who care about him!"

Dumbledore looked taken aback. He didn't expect Remus to snap at him. "He must be kept safe Remus. The blood protection provided by his aunt is necessary to keep him safe."

"What good is his safety if he doesn't have people around him to care for and comfort him? He has no one to talk to about his feelings and the things that have happened over the last year. He needs help to get through this and that is not going to happen while he is here! Just look at what happened last year, he was left alone and cut off from contact with anyone who cared for him mere days after a very trying ordeal, just like this year, and when he returned to be among friends he was continually angry. Did you learn nothing from that experience? What good is it to keep him physically safe if he is an emotional wreck?"

Dumbledore looked at Remus for a few minutes in silence pondering what he said. After some time he sighed, "What do you have in mind?"

"Headquarters is safe and I am sure that you already know that I have written to the Weasleys to inform them of my plans to remove Harry from this house." Dumbledore nodded at this. "I am sure that they will be joining us there soon, but I will not leave Harry here one moment longer."

Dumbledore looked from Remus to Harry and back for another moment. He seemed to be weighing his options. Keep Harry in this house safe but emotionally unstable where his anger could continue to grow, or allow him to leave that safety to get some emotional help from his friends. Slowly he contemplated the choice before him. "Very well, let's go to Arabella's. We can decide how we are going to go about getting Harry to headquarters from there." With that, they stepped out the door and walked away from the Dursleys for another year, hoping this was a good omen of things to come.


	2. Mourning at Grimmauld Place

Once again I don't own anything. The plot is my own idea. This is also my first attempt at Fan Fiction and in actuality the first time since high school that I have even tried to write anything like this. I have rated this "R" because later in the story I am expecting to have some potentially graphic violence. When the time comes I will make sure to warn you. I hope you continue reading and enjoy. The story I really want to write is for the 7th year but I need to set it up with 6th year first.

Thank you to my wife for being my proofreader.

Dark-PhoenixX1988 – Thanks for the review.

Wiley73 – I had forgotten about the mirror myself but am planning to bring it up later. Thanks for reviewing.

**Chapter 2-Mourning at Grimmauld Place**

After a quiet, yet tense, walk to Mrs. Figg's house the trio of wizards stood in the living room discussing the situation. Professor Dumbledore continued to try to change Remus's mind and get Harry back to his relative's house to no avail. After several rather heated exchanges, Dumbledore finally agreed to set up a portkey to take them to an alley near Number 12 Grimmauld Place. They Portkeyed over and quickly made their way to the front door and quietly slipped inside. Once inside, Professor Dumbledore made sure that Harry was settled in his room and bid his goodbyes leaving Harry and Remus to continue their conversation from Privet Drive.

The house was still dark and depressing, with memories of Sirius everywhere Harry looked. It brought back a completely new feeling of guilt to him. Memories of his godfather's infectious laugh at Christmas, his joyous demeanor whenever Harry was with him, and his obvious depression at being left alone here, contained like an animal at the zoo. Harry started to feel like this was not going to be much better than Privet Drive. The only positive was no Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley. Maybe once Harry's friends arrived things would be better, and Professor Lupin was here so at least there was someone who he could talk with and help him keep informed about the wizarding world.

They headed into the drawing room and got a fire going in the grate. They each settled into their own chair and just stared in silence for a few minutes, alternating between the fire, the floor, and each other. After what seemed like an eternity, Harry finally spoke.

"Professor, Thanks for standing up to Professor Dumbledore for me."

"Your welcome Harry, but I haven't been your Professor for a few years now. Please don't be so formal. You can call me Remus or Moony if you like. I couldn't let you continue being in that loveless environment. That would have been enough to make anyone loose their sanity."

Harry paused for a few moments contemplating what he wanted to say next. "What is that veil exactly and why is it in that place?"

Of the many things Remus was expecting to talk about, this was not one. "Well Harry, it is believed to be a gateway to the beyond, and it is in that place so that wizards can try to study it so as to understand what waiting for us after life."

"If it is a gateway, do you think there is a way to come back?"

"No Harry, I am quite sure there is no way to come back. I would love nothing more than to find a way for someone on the other side to come back, but there is none. That has been studied for many, many years and no one has found a way yet. It does not do you any good to dwell on something that will never be."

"I know Remus; I just miss him so much. I only got to know him for a couple of years and was starting to feel like I was actually getting to kind of know my parents through him." Harry's could feel tears starting to form in his eyes again.

"I can help you to learn more about your parents too. I'm not trying to take Sirius's place as godfather but I do care about you very much and I did know your parents as well as Sirius."

"I didn't mean to say that I couldn't find out about them from anyone else, I just meant that being around Sirius made me feel like my father was still around. No offense Remus, but you aren't quite the troublemaker that dad and Sirius were. I mean, yes, you were one of the marauders but you seem like you didn't want to push the rules too much while they not only pushed them they flat out passed them."

"Oh, I wouldn't say I didn't push the rules too much, but you are right, they had no qualms about flying right over them just for a good laugh." Remus paused for a moment then said, "Wait here for a moment; I have something that I think you might find interesting." With that, he got up and left the room. He was only gone a couple of minutes, when he returned he was carrying a small tattered black leather box that was slightly smaller than a briefcase.

"What's in the box?" Harry questioned with a puzzled look on his face.

"This box contains some things from my days at Hogwarts." Remus carefully opened the box to reveal a couple of small books. "This book is a guide that James, Sirius, and Peter wrote to help describe what they did to become an animagus. I think you should have this, not that I am saying that I think you should try, but it is full of useful information," Remus said with a smirk. He picked up the other book and smiled a big smile. "This book is a description of almost every prank that the Marauders pulled at Hogwarts, once again I am not saying that you should attempt to do any of these things but there is some useful information in here," Remus said with a wink handing the book to Harry. "I do believe that James and Sirius would have wanted you to have those."

A large grin started to cross Harry's face, which delighted Remus to no end. It felt good to see Harry smile and Remus could already see the wheels in Harry's head turning as if he was already planning pranks for the upcoming school year. This caused Remus's grin to grow even larger.

Remus then closed the box and slid a small catch to the side then reopened the box to reveal another book and a couple of smaller black velvet boxes. "This book is a compilation of various charms that Lily found to be rather useful." As Remus looked down at the remaining boxes he started to feel a bit misty eyed himself. Harry noticed the change in his demeanor wondering what could have caused it. Remus picked up the boxes and handed them to Harry, "these belonged to your mother."

Harry took the longer rectangular box first and opened it. His eyes grew wide with shock. Inside this box was a pendant of an ornately styled golden Griffen with two small rubies for eyes and a pair of small ruby earrings. "Th-th-these are b-beautiful," Harry stammered. He carefully set the first box down and picked up the smaller square box. He held it for a moment before opening it to find an exquisite gold ring encrusted with a ½-carat diamond surrounded by a ring of small rubies. Harry's breath caught and tears started to flow from his eyes as he realized that this was his mum's wedding ring.

They both sat in silence once more tears flowing freely from both of them for their lost friends and family. After a few more minutes passed Remus stood up to leave, preparing to give Harry some space. He managed to get halfway across the room before Harry stopped him. As Remus turned around, he was embraced in a hug that was one of the warmest he had had in many years. They both just stood there for several minutes comforting each other, before Harry finally whispered, "Thank you for everything. This means more to me than you can possibly know."

They hugged for a while longer and spent more time talking about a great many things, giving Harry a chance to learn a lot more about his parents and Sirius. Some things made him cry some more and others made him laugh with a mirth he hadn't had in years, but no matter what emotions came out he slowly began to feel better. Harry began to realize that Remus was right; talking about things did help ease the pain and allowed him to begin to move on.

After several hours passed, they began to realize that they were both getting hungry, so they headed down to the kitchen to grab some food. They scrounged together a few sandwiches and some butterbeer. Remus continued to tell various stories about his days at Hogwarts causing ever-increasing waves of laughter from them both. After a particularly funny story that had Harry laughing so hard he had rolled off the chair onto the floor clutching his sides, they became aware that they were no longer alone in the room. They both looked over at the door to see an open-mouthed Ron and stunned looking Ginny staring at them with looks of utter confusion on their faces.

"Hello Ginny. Ron, good to see you mate. When did you guys get here?" Asked a still giggling Harry.

Ron and Ginny just stared for a few minutes before Mrs. Weasley stepped into the room. "Well Harry you seem to be feeling better. Remus if this is your definition of someone feeling distraught, I would hate to see what someone feeling happy would be like," she said with a warm smile.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley, I am feeling much better. It has been really good to be able to talk with Remus about things."

"Yes, we were just reminiscing about the days of the marauders and the fun we used to have, would you all care to join us?"

They all sat down and began to share their stories together continuing to laugh with uncontrollable mirth. This was exactly what they all needed. To be able to laugh in the middle of this very trying time was priceless. As they all continued to laugh and visit, Ron informed Harry that Hermione would be coming to join them in a few weeks, and that the rest of Ron's family was planning to pop in often to visit and help brighten up the house.

Mrs. Weasley was very pleased with the way the afternoon was progressing. It made her heart soar to see Harry smiling and laughing again. It had been so long and so much had happened over the last couple of years that she had begun to feel that Harry was beginning to forget how to be happy. It had been such a shock to have breakfast at the Burrow interrupted by Hedwig with a note from Remus saying that Harry was extremely distraught and needed his friends, and asking them to get to headquarters ASAP. Then to get her children to pack quickly and get there as fast as they could, worrying about what condition they would find Harry in when they got there, only to walk in on an extremely jovial pair in the kitchen. It was extremely unexpected, but made her feel wonderful and warm. Yes, things were starting to look up.

This carrying on continued as Molly got up and started to prepare dinner. Soon they were joined by Tonks, Arthur and Bill Weasley, and eventually the twins, all of whom delighted in continuing the conversation and expanding on the span of the stories being told. This continued right on through dinner and into the late hours of the evening, only being stopped by Molly saying it was time for Harry, Ron, and Ginny to head up to bed. Harry realized that Remus was right again, it did feel good to be around people who cared about him, and he did have a lot of people who did care about him

Harry, Ron, and Ginny made their way upstairs to their rooms, stopping long enough to bid Ginny goodnight, Harry and Ron made their way to their room. Once inside they quickly changed into their pajamas and got into bed still sniggering about the conversations of the day. Harry felt more relaxed than he had felt in months allowing him to easily fall asleep.

Later that night Harry was once again haunted by his recurring nightmare of the summer. He awoke with a startled cry of "NOOO" which in turn woke up Ron.

"You alright mate?" Questioned a bleary-eyed startled Ron.

Harry took a moment to get his bearings, looking around the room only vaguely aware that he was covered in cold sweat and shivering. As he continued to survey his surroundings, he finally noticed his roommate and it dawned on him of where he was and that it had in fact only been a dream. He let out a sigh and began to try to breathe normally again.

"Harry? You alright?" Questioned Ron again.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just had a nightmare is all," Harry responded hesitantly.

Ron looked at him skeptically, "You sure it was just a nightmare? You don't think he's trying to mess with you again do you?"

"No, it was just a nightmare. Same one I've been having for the last week." Harry paused looking at Ron. "Hey Ron, I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you guys in danger again."

Ron stared for a moment, "Hey don't worry about it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're my best mate; I couldn't let you go alone."

"Thanks, for forgiving me and not letting me go alone. I don't think I could have made it if I had."

"Just try not to let it happen again, OK. I don't know how many more of your adventures I can handle. That doesn't mean to try not to include me though; I meant what I said I'd do it again if it would help. You're stuck with me as your best mate; I won't let you get rid of me that easily."

Harry just nodded, his heart already feeling lighter. If he kept this up, he was going to have to admit to Remus that he was right; talking to his friends about things was definitely helping. Both boys lay back down and returned to sleep until they were woken the next morning by Ginny telling them that breakfast was almost ready.

They got up and dressed and were about to head downstairs when Ginny popped her head back in to rouse them some more. Ron grumbled something unintelligible before heading out the door. Harry stopped Ginny from running off to quickly, he wanted to apologize to her as well.

"Ginny, wait up. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for getting you into that trouble and thanks for going along. I don't think I could have made it out without you guys helping me."

Ginny took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's OK Harry. We couldn't let you go alone 'cause I think you're right, you wouldn't have made it out without us," she said with a smile before turning and heading down to breakfast.

That smile and gentle touch made Harry's heart lighten considerably. Harry had never really noticed how infectious her smile could be. One couldn't help but feel better and smile right along with her, and with that thought, he followed the other two down for breakfast. Harry walked into the kitchen to see everyone seated around the table. He hesitated for a moment contemplating what to do, then decide to go ahead with it.

"Excuse me everyone. I have something I would like to say to all of you." Everyone was now looking expectantly at Harry. "First, I'd like to say thank you to all of you especially Remus and Tonks, you guys among others put your lives in danger to come rescue me and my friends, and you all have been so kind to me, and showed me that there really are people who care about me. This means a lot to me and I just wanted you all to know that I really appreciate it. Secondly, I would like to say I'm sorry. My actions last month put many people in danger and could have caused more deaths than it did, and for that, I apologize. I especially want to apologize to the Weasley family; I led two of your children into terrible danger and was terrified that I had caused them to die. I lost my godfather and I know how much it hurts and can only imagine how much it would hurt to lose a child or sibling. I promise you here and now that I will do, everything in my power to make sure that something like this NEVER happens again. I care too much about you all to lose any of you because of a misunderstanding."

Harry looked around the table and saw many slightly teared eyes looking back at him. He also saw a few smiles and nod of acceptance, then Molly stood up and walked over to Harry enveloping him in one of her trademark Weasley hugs. "Harry dear, you don't have to apologize for anything. You are as much a son to me as any one of my own. Losing you would have hurt just as badly as losing one of them. I'm sure that the children think of you as their seventh brother and would hate to lose you as well. You-Know-Who has fooled older and wiser wizards than yourself, so you have nothing to be sorry for. Now come and sit down son, your breakfast is getting cold." At this, every face in the room was now smiling and tear streaked, so Harry sat down to have breakfast with his family.


	3. Return of the Order

Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out, my proofreader is a busy person.

Once again, I own none of this except the plot and any new characters, the rest belongs to the greatness that is JK Rowling.

Chapter 3 – Return of the Order 

For the rest of the week, every time a new member of the order or Weasley family arrived at headquarters, Harry took it upon himself to apologize for his mistake and thank them for everything. Everyone replied much the same and was impressed by Harry's maturity about the situation. The Wednesday after they arrived, Remus found the three teens sitting in the drawing room playing a game of exploding snap. Remus paused for a few moments with a feeling of apprehension about what he was about to discuss with Harry.

"Harry, can I have a word with you alone?"

Harry looked up with concern after seeing the look on Remus's face. He nodded, excused himself from the room, and followed Remus to Remus's room. Once in the room Remus closed the door and they both sat down. They both sat in silence for a few moments pondering each other. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

"What's going on Remus? Is something wrong? Have I done something else?"

"No, no, no, it's nothing that you have done Harry, and there is nothing wrong. It's just, this is a difficult thing to talk about, and I'm not sure how you are going to react. Things have been going so much better since I brought you here and were both making some excellent progress with our feelings that I don't want to have a setback. I'm afraid that the timing of this might not be right."

Now Harry was even more confused. He had to agree that things were going much better since last week, but he was starting to feel a bit apprehensive about the direction that this conversation was going in. "Well why don't you just say what's on your mind and we'll go from there. I'm sure whatever it is we can work through it together."

Remus simply marveled at the maturity that had come over Harry since leaving the Dursley's. "Well Harry I have to talk to you about Sirius's estate." Harry's smile faltered, he took a deep breath, and nodded for Remus to continue. "Since Sirius was the sole heir of the Black estate and you, being his godson, were his only heir then the entire Black estate now belongs to you. The properties are available to you immediately but the contents of the vaults in Gringotts have been seized by the ministry since Sirius's innocence has not yet been proven. Once we have found a way to prove his innocence that will all be released to you for your use."

Harry sat stunned. "You said properties. How many properties are we talking about? I thought this house was all there was."

"No Harry, there are several estates besides this one that belong to the Black family in different parts of the country. This house since it was the primary residence for Sirius's parents was the most heavily protected and therefore the safest to use as headquarters for the Order. Speaking of the Order, I as well as Professor Dumbledore would like you to allow us to continue to use this house as the Order's headquarters. Since it is now yours technically we do need your consent to use it." Remus sat looking at Harry expectantly.

Harry pondered this new information for a moment. This was a development that he could use to his advantage. He sat thinking for a couple more moments before finally speaking. "I will consent to allow the Order to continue to use this house as before until I have a chance to speak to Professor Dumbledore and he must be the one to ask permission at that point."

Remus looked at Harry wondering what exactly the youth was planning, but didn't dwell on it. He nodded in understanding then stood up, "I will relay your thoughts to the Headmaster and make sure he speaks with you soon." With that, he left the room.

Harry moved back to the drawing room to rejoin his friends. Upon entering, Ron and Ginny both looked up expectantly. "You want to talk about it mate?" Ron understood to not push Harry into talking if he didn't want to.

Harry sat down and told them both everything that he and Remus had discussed. Ron and Ginny simply looked at Harry in awe. "Do you have any idea how much all that might be worth? It's got to be a lot if they have several estates around the country and Remus did say vaults not vault. If there are multiple vaults then it has to be a lot of money as well."

"I don't care about the money, that's never been important to me since my parents left me plenty. I'd rather have Sirius than his estate." Ron and Ginny both noticed the look of depression in Harry's eyes and moved to comfort Harry. Harry shook his head to stop them, "It's OK, I'm moving on and although it hurts still I understand why and am OK with it."

Ginny still came over, took his hand gently, and quietly said, "You realize that your not alone and can come to any of us to talk any time you want, right? We'll be here for you because we do care about you."

Harry looked into her deep brown eyes, noticing how startlingly bright and inviting they were, and nodded in understanding. "Thank you, both of you for being here for me. I'll always remember that I can talk to my friends. Ginny I know that we haven't spent much time together before this but I want you to know that I consider you a friend just as much as Ron and Hermione, OK."

Ginny nodded and smiled her infectious smile, which caused Harry to smile as well. They were both brought out of their reverie by Ron smacking Harry's shoulder, "Yeah, we're here for you mate. Any time you need to talk we're here."

"Thanks Ron and Ginny that means a lot. Ok enough being serious, let's have some fun"

They returned to playing games, laughing, and having fun. After a couple more days of relaxation passed, Saturday arrived seeming to be the same as every other day since he had arrived. Shortly after breakfast, Remus came up to Harry and pulled him aside again.

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore has agreed to ask you himself about the use of the house and would like to do it tonight after the Order meeting he has planned. Is this Ok with you?"

"Ok, I'll be waiting for him tonight then."

Many of the Order members showed up early so as to take advantage of Molly's excellent cooking. Dinner was a somewhat subdued affair what with the knowledge of an Order meeting immediately following dinner. After dinner Harry, Ron, and Ginny were sent upstairs to wait until everything was over. The meeting wasn't too long because it was only about a 45 minutes before Harry was being called back down to talk with Professor Dumbledore. Harry returned to the kitchen to see the headmaster sitting at the table patiently waiting for him with the trademark twinkle in his eye. Harry sat down and looked intently at the headmaster.

"Well Harry, I am told that you seem to be feeling better lately, you certainly do seem to look better than the last time I saw you."

"Thank You, sir. I am doing much better now that I am among friends." Harry replied stiffly. He was not about to make this conversation easy on the headmaster, he was still upset with the headmaster after the conversation in the headmasters office last month.

"Well, I have also been told that you want me to be the one to ask permission to continue using this house as our headquarters. I assume that since you made this request that you have some conditions you would like to attach to this usage."

"You are very perceptive sir. I do have one condition for you. You will stop keeping secrets from me and keep me informed about everything that is going on in regards to Voldemort. If I am to be the one who is supposed to defeat him then I need to know what he is up to so that I can be prepared. This is not negotiable." Harry said this with a conviction and finality that showed his sincerity without any doubts.

Professor Dumbledore studied his student very carefully for a few moments. "Are you saying you want to be a part of the Order? Our rules of entry cannot be circumvented Harry. The reason for only letting witches and wizards who are of age and out of school is due to the fact that we have tasks that require use of magic that an underage witch or wizard cannot perform."

Harry cut in, "Sir, we both need each other. You need me to defeat Voldemort, and I need you to train me to do it. I would hate to have to do it on my own without your help, but if my condition is not met then my trust of you will never be repaired and I will not share any information that might be useful with you. I do not have to be an active member of the Order, I can simply be a consultant, but I can no longer accept being kept in the dark in regards to my destiny. As I said this is not negotiable."

Professor Dumbledore could see that there was no way around this. "Harry the other members of the Order would not allow it."

"Do they know the full contents of the prophecy? If they did, I believe that they would understand the need to adjust the rules in this case. I think that you will also find that certain friends of mine would probably want in as well and might as well be allowed to join, as I would be telling them everything I know. I will not keep secrets from my friends any more, after last month I realize that they need to know exactly what they have gotten themselves into by being my friends."

"You intend to tell everyone the prophecy then?"

"Yes sir I do." This statement was the first of this conversation that had Harry worried. He was very afraid that once his friends found out about the prophecy that they would want to distance themselves from him. He knew that he needed them to be there for him.

Dumbledore considered the situation, the twinkle in his eyes had dimmed during this conversation. His heart told him to keep Harry in the dark as much as possible, but his head knew that Harry was right; he needed to know what was going on. "We will bring it up at the next Order meeting next week. I will bring my pensive and you may make your request to the rest of the Order. You are right though, you do need to be informed, and I will do my best to keep you informed. I do have one condition myself for this to take place though."

Harry saw this coming, "You want me to continue with learning Occlumency." This was not a question but rather a statement. The twinkle was back in the old mans eyes. "Who did you intend to teach me, sir?"

"I presume that Professor Snape is still out of the question, besides I do not believe that he would agree anyway. I also gather, by your attitude toward me, that I am also not acceptable in your eyes. Would I be correct Harry?"

"Yes sir, you would be quite correct. I realize that you trust Professor Snape, but I do not. I also have only begun to try to trust you again, but we have a long way to go. So who else can do it?"

At this point Harry became aware of another presence in the kitchen. He noticed someone sitting quietly in the corner observing the exchange between the two. The headmaster noticed that Harry had finally noticed the room's other occupant. "Harry, allow me to introduce you to your next Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." The man in the corner slowly stood up. He was an imposing figure. He was somewhat tall with a slightly muscular build. He was clothed in what looked like black dragon hide boots and black jeans and shirt under a long black dragon hide trench coat type of a cloak. He had dark short hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. The most intimidating feature though was his eyes; they were very dark, almost as if they were being covered so that no one could see into them making them seem very cold

It was easy to see why Harry had not noticed him before, he made no noise when he moved and had been sitting in a slightly darkened corner of the room. "Harry this is Professor Smith." The man gave a very curt nod almost as Professor Snape would have. "No Harry this is not Professor Snape in disguise. He however is a very accomplished occlumens and legilimens and I have no doubt that you will find him a very capable teacher."

Harry was not sure about this man; he did make Harry feel like he felt around Snape. "I will try and let you know how it is going. Does the fact that I am meeting him now mean that you want me to start before school starts?"

"Yes Harry, I would like you to start working with Professor Smith as soon as the two of you can set up a schedule, which I would hope, would be as soon as possible."

"Ok sir, I agree to your terms. When is the next Order meeting?"

"We will have another meeting next Saturday, Hermione should have joined us by that time, and you can inform the Order and your friends of the prophecy at that time, and then make your request of induction into the order. Is this acceptable to you?"

"Yes sir, next Saturday it is."

"Very well, I have other business to attend to so I must be going." With that, the headmaster left Harry and Professor Smith alone in the kitchen.

The two looked each other over skeptically for a few moments. Mr. Smith motioned for Harry to sit down and did so himself. Harry warily sat down across from the new teacher. They continued sizing each other up for a few more minutes. Finally, the silence was broken. "I have been told about your exploits last month. Your ability is descent but you have much to learn before you can effectively take on Voldemort. I have also been informed that last year you somewhat effectively managed to teach your fellow students how to defend themselves. This DA should be continued this year as a legal club with you continuing as teacher and myself as the faculty sponsor. I will only offer suggestions and assistance when needed. My classes will be effective but there are some things that I will not be teaching in class due to the student make up of the school. I do not wish to help certain students become better duelers, which is where your DA comes in. I will be instructing you in more than just Occlumency during the summer. I will also be testing you to see how much you really do know so that your DA classes can be as effective as possible. Do you have any questions?"

"I assume the students that you do not want to learn how to duel are the Death Eater's children. How often and when do you want to meet during the summer?"

"I believe that we should meet every day for several hours after dinner. We will work on different things each day so as not to work on the same thing two days in a row. Occlumency will be very difficult to master, but I will make sure that you do master it. I will also be teaching you to defend yourself without a wand. No, not wandless magic, muggle self-defense you know the martial arts. I believe that you will find that the Death Eater's aversion to everything muggle will make this very useful in having an advantage over them, since they should have no knowledge of it. I will also expect you to begin a training program on your own to increase your endurance. Any other questions?"

"So shall we begin tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow would be acceptable. Make sure that you dress comfortably since we will be expending a great deal of energy. Until tomorrow then." With that, Mr. Smith stood and left leaving Harry to wonder what exactly he had just gotten himself into. Harry sat for a few minutes thinking about the events that had just transpired; he couldn't shake the feeling that the headmaster had just manipulated him again. He had gone into that conversation expecting to be in control of everything only to come out of it without the assurance he had been hoping for. It was up to the entire Order to decide if he would be allowed in, this would be a very difficult sell indeed. Mrs. Weasley would be the most adamant opposition to his request. She was the mother he never got a chance to have, and he really appreciated that, but she was far too overprotective in pretty much everyone's opinion. Harry was still musing over his new situation when he noticed a new arrival in the kitchen.

"Harry, is everything alright?" Ginny was slowly making her way across the room toward him with an uncertain look on her face. "I noticed that everyone had left and you hadn't come back upstairs yet. Did anything bad happen to you?"

"No, nothing bad happened; I was just caught up in my thoughts. Sorry to worry you, I just came across some new information to digest."

"Anything you want to talk about? I'm a pretty good listener."

"Well, I did just meet our new DADA teacher, and I somehow got convinced to start working with him on occlumency and other to be determined things starting tomorrow after dinner. I can't help but feel I just got manipulated again. I came down here to talk to the headmaster thinking that I held all of the cards only to end up getting extra lessons during what is supposed to be my vacation from learning new things. I thought I had a solid way into the Order…" Harry suddenly froze; he had not meant to reveal his attempt to get into the Order to his friends yet. He looked at Ginny hoping that she didn't catch his slip. He could tell by the surprised look on her face that she had definitely caught his slip.

"You're trying to get into the order? Why?" The look on Ginny's face went from surprise to suspicion very quickly. Harry could tell she was not going to let this drop.

"Ginny, I have my reasons, and they will become clear next Saturday. I just ask that you accept that until then." Harry could tell that she wanted to push for more information. "I promise that I will tell you and the rest of my friends what's going on, I just need you to wait until Saturday. OK?"

Ginny considered him for a moment, unsure whether to let it go for now or not. After a moment, she decided that she would let it go. "Fine, I will let it go for now, but I expect a fully detailed explanation on Saturday. Why Saturday though, what is so special about that day?"

"Hermione will be here by then and that is the next Order meeting, I will be able to tell all three of you at the same time and I have to make my request to the whole Order then. Professor Dumbledore said I have to ask the Order if I can join and get their permission." Even though Harry hadn't planned to inform Ginny of his plan, it felt good to confide in someone about it. Harry continued to look at Ginny, taking in the sight in front of him. He had never really noticed her before, yes he had seen her but she had always been little Ginny, Ron's little sister. As he sat there looking at her, he began to notice little things about her that he never noticed before. The way she had her fiery red hair tucked behind her right ear and tilted her head to the side, and the piercing gaze of those amazingly bright brown eyes. He could lose himself in those eyes easily. How did he never notice her before this? She had been around him for years and he had never really noticed her before. She had even fancied him and he had been oblivious to it, and now she had moved on and was over him. Well at least she was his friend. He was glad he could at least have her as a friend. "How's Dean?"

Ginny looked shocked. "What do you mean?"

"You said on the train ride home that you were interested in Dean Thomas, I was just wondering how he was doing."

Ginny smiled at this and let out a little snicker, "I was just saying that to get under Ron's skin, trying to get him to back off. I really hate how overprotective he is."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at this, "Yeah, well I think you did a pretty good job of that judging by the look on his face when you said it." He also noticed that this information actually made him feel better. Maybe he would actually get to know Ginny better. He already knew that he enjoyed her company and that talking with her made him feel better. He was definitely going to have to see where this could go, but slowly he didn't want to mess up a friendship with her. "Speaking of Ron, we ought to go up and check on him. I'm surprised that he didn't come down when you did. I actually expected to see him as soon as everybody left, but I'm glad it was just you. I really enjoyed talking to you, it made me feel better. Thanks."

Harry stood up to leave the room, completely missing the surprised look on Ginny's face followed by a huge smile. By the time Harry looked back at her, the smile had settled down and she had also stood to leave. "Your welcome Harry, you can always come to me if you want to talk. I enjoyed talking to you too." With that, they both headed upstairs to find Ron. They found Ron in the drawing room engaged in a game of wizard's chess with Bill. The game seemed to be pretty even however Harry could tell by the looks on their faces that Ron was winning. As they walked into the room, Ron looked up, "Alright there Harry?"

"Yeah Ron, everything's fine."

Harry and Ginny sat down to watch the rest of the game, which didn't last much longer. After that, the four of them visited for a while longer until Mrs. Weasley popped in to let the teens know it was time for bed. They grumbled about it as they got up to head to their respective rooms and bid each other good night.


	4. Welcome to My Nightmare

Chapter 4 – Welcome to My Nightmare 

Harry was in the brain room, Luna and Hermione were both lying motionless on the floor, Ron was being attacked by the brain, and then he turned to see Ginny get hit in the face by a stunner. He felt everything stop. He couldn't focus on anything except the unconscious red head on the floor. Soon he noticed that their surroundings were slowly changing. Gone were all of his friends except Ginny. Her unconscious form was still lying on the floor but it was no longer the floor of the brain room, it was now a cold stone floor in a torch lit room. He was finally able to survey his new surroundings. He gasped; he was back in the Chamber of Secrets. He began to search for what he thought was going to show up next, either an ancient basilisk or a 16-year-old Tom Riddle. He was not prepared for what he found, walking slowly across the chamber was a skeletally thin, pale, and snake faced man with red slits for eyes. Harry felt his scar begin to throb.

"So we meet again Harry Potter. You keep foiling my plans and it is getting very old," hissed the high cold voice of Voldemort. "Your mother's love sent me away as a baby and again in your first year. I can see that you have been here, beaten my 16-year-old self, and killed my basilisk in your second year. You surprised me in your fourth year; I did not expect you to be so advanced or lucky. Last month was not pleasant. If it hadn't been for Dumbledore, I would have finally taken care of you. Why do you continue to defy me Potter? You should just let me win. Give me what I want or I will be forced to play dirtier. I shall be forced to find other ways to hurt you."

Harry instinctually looked over at the form of Ginny on the floor. "Ah yes, you care for this one don't you. This one along with all of her family. Yes, they will make easy to spot targets. Give me what I want or they will pay the price."

The pain in Harry's scar had been increasing steadily as Voldemort spoke and was becoming unbearable. "NOOOO, I will stop you. I will not let you continue to hurt people."

"You can't stop me Potter. No one can. I will get what I want eventually, and when I do no one will be able to stop me, not even your precious Dumbledore."

The pain in Harry's scar was becoming too much to bear. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO, you will be destroyed, I will find a way to do it myself."

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, there is nothing you can do to stop me Potter. Look at what you have to look forward to." With this, Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Ginny, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" The blinding green light was speeding through the air toward Ginny; an unearthly sound filled the air, the sound of whooshing death combined with a high cold cackle of laughter.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," Harry yelled as he shot up in bed, the pain in his scar was blinding, and his body was drenched in sweat.

"Harry, what's wrong," asked a very scared Ron. He had gotten used to being woken up by Harry's nightmares, but he could tell that this scream was different.

"What's going on Ron," said a Remus's voice. "Harry, are you ok? What happened?"

Harry was looking around, trying to see through the pain. "G-G-Ginny," Harry stammered.

"What about Ginny," Ron questioned with obvious apprehension in his voice.

"V-V-Voldemort k-k-killed G-G-Ginny," Harry stammered out again.

There was a startled shriek as someone else ran from the room. "WHAT! Y-Y-You-Know-Who killed my sister?" Ron was in a panic now. Harry could hear a lot of commotion in the rest of the house now.

"G-G-Gotta save G-G-Ginny," Harry's stammering was getting worse. He began to try to get up.

"Wait Harry, you need to tell me what happened," said Remus trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Nightmare, yeah." Harry closed his eyes to try to remember the events. "Started as a nightmare then changed. I was back in the Chamber of Secrets with Ginny. Voldemort was there. He talked to me. He was really angry. Scar hurt so bad. Then he killed Ginny." Tears were now flowing freely down his cheeks.

"It's ok Harry, I'm not dead." Harry's eyes flew open to see a very frightened Ginny kneeling beside the bed and a sobbing Mrs. Weasley standing behind her being comforted by Mr. Weasley. Harry pulled Ginny into a hug and began to cry uncontrollably. Remus rubbed Harry's back while Ginny tried to soothe Harry. "It's alright Harry, it was just a dream." Every one else in the room just looked back and forth between each other and Harry.

It took about fifteen minutes for Harry to calm down enough to start to explain what he witnessed in more detail. By this time, everyone in the house was in Harry and Ron's room listening quietly. Harry recounted the dream in as much detail as possible unwilling to release Ginny completely; he still had a hold of her hand. By the time, he finished everyone felt uneasy.

"This wasn't just a dream, was it Harry," questioned Mr. Weasley.

"No, it wasn't. He was inside my head again. My scar just hurting more and more. Why does he think I have something he wants?"

Remus replied, "I don't know Harry; I think we better tell Dumbledore about this. He may have some input. Harry would you be willing to try to learn Occlumency again? I think it would be helpful."

"Professor Dumbledore has already set up lessons for me. My first one will be tonight after dinner."

"Good. I believe that you will be much more successful with Professor Dumbledore than you were with Snape."

"I won't be working with the headmaster," Harry said with a slight tinge of anger.

"You won't? Your not working with Snape again are you?" Remus was starting to get really worried.

"No, I'll be working with Professor Smith. He was the only other option since I refuse to work with the headmaster or Snape."

"Why don't you want to work with Professor Dumbledore? What happened between you two?" Everyone in the room was now very curious about what had caused Harry and Dumbledore to become so distant from each other.

"I am tired of being manipulated by him. I am tired of being kept in the dark about everything. If he had just been honest with me from the beginning, things would have been different." Harry was starting to get really mad now; everything he had bottled up over his entire life was just spilling out. "He knew why Voldemort was after me, I asked him about it at the end of my first year, but he wouldn't tell me. I asked more at the end of my second year, but again he sidestepped the issue. Then after my fourth year and all last year, he still said nothing, he even distanced himself from me. If he had just told my why it was so important to learn occlumency and tried to teach me himself, I might have actually learned to block Voldemort out and Sirius would still be alive. Then there is the Dursleys, Sirius showed up as Hagrid was leaving my parents house with me, he wanted Hagrid to give me to him since he was my godfather, but Dumbledore had already decided to send me to my hateful relatives instead. He interfered with my life from the beginning. Sirius spent 12 years in Azkaban and I spent every non-school filled moment of my life in hell because of Dumbledore. I don't trust him any more than I trust Snape."

The silence that followed was deafening. No one knew what to say to this. No one had any idea about any of that. Everyone could see how angry Harry was and found it to be quite scary. Ginny, who was still holding Harry's hand, just gave Harry's hand a gentle squeeze. This had a positive effect because the visible anger started to dissipate. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand back and gave her a small smile in return.

Finally, Ron spoke, "Did he finally tell you why You-Know-Who is after you?"

"The prophecy," was all Harry said. "The prophecy about me and Voldemort."

Once again, there was a stunned silence, everyone was afraid to ask the next question. Harry answered their question for them, "Dumbledore knows what the prophecy said, and he told me after the department of mysteries. No I won't tell you what it said, not yet, but soon, Saturday to be exact, at the Order meeting."

"But Harry you, me, and Ginny aren't in the Order. How can we go to the Order meeting?"

"I told Dumbledore that I wanted all of my friends and the Order to know the contents of the prophecy. I want everyone to know how big the danger really is. I don't want any more secrets." Harry paused for a second pondering whether or not to say more. "I'm going to ask the Order to allow me in too."

Mrs. Weasley finally broke in, "you are too young. It is too dangerous."

Harry stopped her in her tracks, "Once you hear the prophecy, you will see that it won't matter if I'm in the Order or not. I'm in danger no matter what."

Once again, silence fell in the room. Everyone seemed to understand that they would just have to wait until Saturday to find out everything. It was going to be a long week. Soon they all decided that none of them was likely to get back to sleep so they headed downstairs to the kitchen to scrounge up some snacks and see if they could change the mood of the house. As they sat and talked about whatever came up the mood slowly got better. Before long there was some laughter and jokes being told, but everyone still had that morning's events in the back of their minds.

"Sorry for ruining everyone's night," Harry finally said. "I haven't been sleeping well for a while so I'm used to this, but I really am sorry that all of you got involved with this."

"Harry, you have nothing to be sorry for," said Mrs. Weasley. "You have had more happen to you in your life than just about anyone. It is a wonder you ever have a good nights sleep. Just know that if you ever need to talk to someone that we are all here and more than willing to listen, because that is what family does and we are definitely your family." She then proceeded to give him a warm motherly hug, which made him feel better.

After several hours of sitting and visiting, they slowly decided to start going about their respective days. Order members began to come and go. The three teens went about trying to relax by playing some games to pass the time. The rest of the day carried on much the same until the household was sitting down to dinner. It was at this point that Harry noticed the presence of Professor Smith and was reminded about the beginning of his Occlumency lessons that were to begin after dinner.

After dinner, Professor Smith led Harry out of the kitchen to the drawing room. Once they were both inside, the professor closed the door, moved to a chair, and sat down. He motioned for Harry to do the same in the chair opposite him. Once they were both seated, the professor began.

"So I hear you had a visitor in your sleep last night." This wasn't so much a question as it was a statement. "I have no knowledge of what kind of progress you have made in your previous lessons on the subject of Occlumency so I need you to fill me in. What do you do to try to clear your mind?"

Harry stared at the professor for a minute, trying to think of a response. The professor could tell that there was a problem. "Let me rephrase my question. What methods of clearing your mind did you previous teacher give you to try?"

Harry was starting to get angry now. "He didn't tell me how to clear my mind. He just told me to do it, and then attacked my mind relentlessly."

"He didn't tell you how to clear your mind? What kind of a teacher expects someone to learn without all of the information?" There was a pause here while he thought. "Well that explains a lot about why you were unsuccessful. We shall work on that first. Occlumency will not work if you cannot clear your mind and seal your thoughts away behind some mental barriers. This complicates things; I was expecting you to have at least some knowledge on this subject to work from. I was not expecting to have to start from scratch."

Harry could see the disappointment on the professor's face, although he couldn't tell if the professor was disappointed with him or professor Snape. He waited apprehensively to be told what to do hoping that this man had more patience than Snape. After several somewhat tense moments, the professor spoke, "Harry have you ever hear of meditation?"

"Yes I have heard of it, but I don't know what it is sir."

"Well, meditation is a way to calm the mind and body and relax. First, you must find a relaxing position to sit in. Now once you have found a comfortable position, I want you to rest your arms, palms up, on the armrests of your chair and close your eyes. Ok now I want you to take deep breaths that you are going to let out slowly. Concentrate on your breathing; it will help you calm yourself. Don't pay attention to anything but my voice and your breathing." As Harry did as he was told, Professor Smith could see the tension begin to drain away from Harry's face and body. Over the course of the next hour, they continued to work on relaxing completely. Once the professor felt Harry was sufficiently relaxed, he began telling him how to organize his thoughts. "Harry, the first step to guarding your mind is clearing your mind, which if I'm not mistaken you seem to have done quite well. Now you must begin to organize your thoughts and memories so that you know where they all are. The reason for this is if you know where your various memories are you can protect them all the better" They spent the next two hours working on organizing Harry's mind.

Harry had come a long way over the course of the last three hours. He still had a long way to go but he felt much more confident with this teacher's ability to help him. As they wrapped up for the night, Professor Smith said, "Now I want you to practice meditating every night to clear your thoughts before you sleep. Now that you know how to do it, it will take less and less effort and time to complete the task. Tomorrow we will be working on hand to hand combat so be rested."

Harry had a thought at this, "Professor, would it be ok for my friends to learn the muggle fighting as well? I think that if it is as successful as you say it is that they would benefit from it too."

The professor considered this for a moment, "Yes Harry, I believe that you are correct, they would benefit from it also. Make sure you all wear something comfortable and be prepared for much more activity than today. Now off to bed and get some sleep."

Harry saw the professor to the door and then made his way up to his room. Ron was already asleep. It didn't take long for Harry to get his mind cleared since he had just spent three hours doing it. He laid down and fell into the first peaceful night's sleep he had had in months.

The next day transpired much the same as the previous one had. After dinner, all three teens joined Professor Smith. This time they met in the basement, which had been cleared of all obstructions and had padding placed on the floor and walls. After some brief introductions, the professor started teaching them how to stretch out properly so as not to injure themselves. They spent three hours learning the basics of a muggle martial art called Krav Maga. They were told that this was a form of fighting that was originated in the country of Israel, and Krav Maga was roughly translated to mean contact combat. It was quite simple to learn and they found that it could be very effective. It was a form of fighting that didn't have any fixed positions or movements, but just trained them to act on instinct. It was also a very tiring workout because they would warm up to the point they were out of breath and then start training. This had the effect of making the training a subconscious effort so that they could act without thinking about it. Afterward they cleaned up and headed off to bed. Harry once again meditated to clear his mind and had another very restful night's sleep.

The rest of the week continued in much the same way, with Harry learning to organize his mind one night and the three of them learning to fight the next. As Harry, Ron, and Ginny were entering the kitchen for breakfast on Saturday, they were ambushed by a mass of bushy brown hair. "Hello Hermione," they all said together. "It's good to see you again."

"Hello Harry, Ron, and Ginny." After hugs all around, Hermione looked Harry up and down, "well you seem to be doing much better than the last time I saw you. Ron tells me that you are all working with our new DADA instructor learning to fight. Do you think I can join you too?"

"I'm sure that he would be ok with that. It would actually make practicing easier because then we would all be going against each other instead of having to take turns going against the professor." They all sat down to eat breakfast and began to bring Hermione up to date on what happened so far that summer. Hermione was sufficiently worried about Voldemort's intrusion into Harry's mind, and was pleasantly surprised by the ease with which Harry was learning to organize his mind.

They spent the day playing games and relaxing, which was something that Harry was doing a lot more since he started with the meditation. He was amazed with the effect being relaxed had on him. His confidence was beginning to grow and he was getting better at chess. He was no longer the pushover that Ron was used to since he was able to think more clearly and see things in a new way. He also found that it was getting easier to learn things, he understood things more quickly. If he had known that this would be the effect, he would have asked to do this back in his first year.

That night as dinnertime approached, the four teens began to notice that there were a lot more people at the house than usual. "I wonder what's going on. Why are there so many people here tonight?" Asked Hermione.

Harry just responded with, "Order meeting." He had been concentrating so hard on his studies that he had forgotten that tonight was the Order meeting and he was finally going to reveal his secrets.

Ron and Ginny both had a sudden realization themselves, they would finally be getting the full story about what was bothering Harry. Hermione looked at her friends to see them all looking apprehensive, although for different reasons. Harry was worried about how everyone would take the news he was about to pass on, while Ron and Ginny were curious about what could really be bothering Harry. Once dinner was served everyone sat down to eat and visit. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Remus, Mr., and Mrs. Weasley were all very subdued since they all had some idea about what Harry was going to be doing that night.

Professor Dumbledore arrived as the kitchen was being cleared up and made sure everyone was there, before calling the meeting to order. "Excuse me Headmaster, but shouldn't we clear the room of all non-Order members first," said Professor Snape looking at the four students with disdain.

Hermione had started to get up to leave, when she noticed that none of the others were moving. "Severus, everyone here is welcome to stay. Harry has requested a chance to speak with the members of the Order on a matter of much importance and wants his friends to be here as well." Needless to say, Professor Snape was not too pleased with this pronouncement. "Harry, are you ready?"

Harry stood up and moved to the front of the room. He turned to face the gathered group of witches and wizards. It seemed that the entire Order had been assembled for this meeting. Harry searched the room looking at all of the faces, his gaze finally coming to rest on Ginny's face. She gave him a small smile of encouragement, which filled him with confidence before he began.

"First, I would like to thank you all for listening to what I have to say. I have spent the better part of my life being terrorized by Voldemort for reasons that I did not fully understand until recently. I now understand why he wants me dead and understand that I need all of the knowledge I can get to stay alive. So I am here to ask you to allow me to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

There was an explosion of protests mainly centering on, "He is too young," or, "He is still in school." He waited for a few moments to allow everything to calm down a little before continuing.

"I thought that you would feel that way, I only ask you to bear with my while I state my case." This got everyone calmed down. "As you all know last month I and some of my friends made an ill-advised trip to the Ministry of Magic, I thought it was to save my godfather but it was really a trap. Voldemort got me to believe that Sirius was in trouble so that I would go to the Department of Mysteries and find a prophecy. In the events that followed the prophecy was destroyed before anyone could hear it."

"Yes Potter, we all know about this, would you please get to the point." Professor Snape was getting impatient. "We are all aware that the prophecy was destroyed so no one knows its contents."

"That is not true. The prophecy was given in the presence of Professor Dumbledore, and he can recall it exactly." There was a stunned silence where nothing could be heard, not even the sound of breathing. "After I was returned to Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore shared that prophecy with me, and now I want to share it with you all here. This should explain why I believe you should allow me to join. Professor, you have brought your Pensive?"

"Yes Harry, I have it right here." Harry turned to see the familiar bowl filled with the silvery substance that was the Headmasters memories sitting in the middle of the table. The Professor continued, "If you would all watch the pensive."

The Professor prodded the fluid in the pensive with his wand. After a moment the small rotating form of Professor Trelawney rose up out of the pensive speaking in a harsh horse voice…_"The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_

The room was silent. No one seemed to be able to find his or her voice. Many of the women had their hands covering their mouths with stunned looks on their faces and tears falling down their cheeks. Most of the men were unable to look Harry in the eyes. They new there was something big between Harry and Voldemort but this was so much more than they had expected. Finally Mad Eye Moody spoke up, "Albus, are you sure that was referring to Harry? You know the Longbottom boy was born around the same time as Harry."

Harry spoke up, "Yes Professor Moody, you're right Neville's birthday is the day before mine, but the prophecy is referring to me, remember the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal." Harry pointed to his scar at this comment. "There can be no doubt that I am the child described in this prophecy. Do you see why I need to be included in the Order? I need to get as much training and knowledge as I can as soon as I can, because I don't think he's going to want to give me any more time to learn on my own."

The assembled group continued to talk quietly for several minutes before Professor Smith finally spoke up, "It seems to me that this is very cut and dried. If this prophecy is correct then Harry is the only person who can defeat Voldemort. If that is the case then we need to make sure that he is trained as completely as possible, because if he is forced to fight before he is ready then the wizarding world will fall to Voldemort."

There were many nods of assent. No one seemed to be able to come up with a valid argument against including Harry in the Order. Albus called for a show of hands in favor of allowing Harry to join, it was unanimous even Snape couldn't bring himself to vote no. Before Albus could continue, Harry spoke again, "I think it only fair that my friends be allowed to join as well if they wish to." He said this while motioning to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Once again, there was an upheaval of objections. Harry quickly interjected, "I have vowed to no longer keep secrets from them so anything I learn from you will be repeated to them anyway, besides they are in just as much danger as I am simply because they are my friends. They deserve the chance to know the truth as well as I do."

After much discussion, the mood seemed to be that Harry was right. The final straw was Mrs. Weasley admitting that she indeed felt Harry was right, and even though she was afraid for the safety of her children that they needed the information that could be obtained by the Order just the same as Harry. Once again, a show of hands was called for and it was once again unanimous in favor of letting them all join. After the vote was confirmed, Mrs. Weasley swept Harry and the other teens into a hug she was terrified but knew this was what needed to be. They were in the Order now, it was time to grow up.


	5. New Business

Chapter 5 – New Business 

Once everyone settled down, Albus once again called the meeting back to order. "Well I must say that I suppose it is a good thing that Harry was accepted, if he had not been then we would no longer be allowed to use this house as a headquarters. Harry becoming a member of the order was his one stipulation on us continuing to use this house. Now that we have taken care of that, it is time for updates. What do we hear from the ministry Arthur?"

Arthur Weasley stood and began, "It would seem that a vote of no confidence in the Minister is upon us. The Wizengamot seems to have come to the same conclusion about Minister Fudge's ability to lead our world as we have."

"They finally feel he is a git," added in Nymphadora Tonks, today in her shocking pink spiky hair. With this pronouncement, everyone in the room chuckled.

Arthur resumed his report, "I think it would be good for us to begin preparing to back a new candidate who is sympathetic to our cause. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke up, "Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be good."

Harry thought for a moment and spoke up, "I believe that Amos Diggory of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would be a good choice. The fact that he lost his son to Voldemort would be a big boost in our direction."

Everyone looked surprised by this comment; no one had expected Harry to willingly talk about those events again. Arthur responded, "Yes I quite agree with those assessments. Can anyone think of anyone else?"

Everyone was quiet for a few moments before Albus spoke again, "I believe that you would be a good candidate as well Arthur." Arthur looked shocked by this announcement, as did all of the Weasleys. "You are a Head of your Department, you have strong moral fiber, and you are a definite proponent of the light. I believe that if you, or any of the afore mentioned candidates, were to receive a ringing endorsement from certain respected individuals that you could easily be elected."

Arthur finally got his wits about him and spoke again, "Albus I am flattered that you feel that way but I don't know if I would have as much chance as one of the other two."

"We can discuss this more later once everyone has had a chance to think about it. Anything else from the Ministry Arthur?"

"The level of security is finally beginning to increase and every department is doing extensive checks on their employees to try to route out any with connections to the Death Eaters."

With this Snape added, "Yes the Dark Lord is very concerned about this turn of events. He does not wish to lose Fudge as minister, he may not be a Death Eater, but his inadequacy is invaluable to the Dark Lord. We must be very cautious of any other candidates for Fudge's position."

Everyone nodded in agreement at this. Albus continued, "What else is happening with Voldemort Severus?"

"The Dark Lord is very unhappy about the events in June." He put a bit of extra emphasis on the word unhappy. "He is still unaware of the full extent of the prophecy. He is also trying to come up with a plan to free the Death Eaters who were captured at the Ministry. But he is most displeased with the fact that Mr. Potter managed to slip through his fingers yet again."

"I'll bet," mumbled an amused Harry, which was followed by a small nervous chuckle from some of the others in the room and a glare from Snape.

Albus continued, "Do you know what Voldemort's plan is to free his followers?"

"No Headmaster, he is not sharing that information with me at this time. I believe that he is unaware that the prophecy can still be found. Since Mr. Potter has not yet shown the ability to learn Occlumency and block out the Dark Lord do you really think it was wise to allow him to know the prophecy sir?"

"Maybe if you had actually tried to teach me I would have mastered it by now," Harry replied scathingly.

"Mr. Potter," Snape replied coolly, "I doubt it was my teaching methods, it was more likely your questionable intelligence that was the problem."

At this, Professor Smith intervened, "If you teach potions anywhere as poorly as you attempt to teach occlumency then it is a wonder anyone can pass the OWLS or NEWTS."

There was a silence in the room so severe that everyone thought a silencing charm had been cast. Snape looked at the new professor with disgust. "How DARE you question my teaching methods, especially in front of students. If you think you can have any more success be my guest, but I am quite sure you will find the task just as difficult."

Professor Smith looked at Harry for a moment before speaking, "Harry, when was the last time you had any mental contact with Voldemort?"

Harry was unsure of where this was going, "A week ago sir."

"Before that did you have any difficulty getting rest? Any restless nights? Any nightmares? Any visions?"

"Yes sir."

"How often?"

Harry was very tentative in responding now. "Please answer the question."

Harry was wishing that this conversation were not happening here and now. Finally, after a few moments he responded, "Every night since the trip to the Ministry." Harry looked down ashamed at his feelings of weakness only to look up in surprise when he felt someone grasp his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. He looked to his left to see Ginny smiling warmly at him in support, making his heart feel lighter again.

Professor Smith continued, "Have you had any episodes since then?"

Harry looked back at his new professor thinking, "No sir, not a one. I have gotten a lot of good rest this last week."

Snape was frowning while a smile began to work across Professor Smith's face, "Would you be so kind as to tell us what has happened to create this drastic change?"

Harry was also beginning to smile now; he could finally see where this was going and loved every minute of it. "I've learned to clear my mind and organize my thoughts, just as you taught me sir."

"So Professor Snape, since Harry has made considerably more progress in one week with me than several months with you I would have to disagree with your assessment of his learning ability." The scowl on Snape's face was beyond anything he had ever done before. The ever-present animosity toward Harry was never higher than it was now. Harry couldn't help but smile a huge grin; his new DADA professor had just publicly humiliated his most hated teacher, which had been something that Harry had wanted to do for years.

"That is enough gentlemen," intervened Albus, the twinkle in his eyes was very noticeable. "Do you have anything else Severus?"

"No Headmaster," he replied and returned to his seat his never-ending scowl firmly in tact.

"Very well," Albus replied turning to Bill Weasley, "Bill anything to note from the goblins?"

"Nothing Albus, they are still keeping to themselves. I think they are still waiting for the balance to sway in favor of one group before taking a side. They want to pick the winning side."

Albus nodded and turned to Remus, "Remus, any word from the werewolves and other so called dark creatures?"

"They have been approached and I fear that they are leaning in the direction of the dark. We need to give them a reason not to, but it would have to come from the ministry in the way of a law change granting them more freedoms." The look on Remus's face as he spoke was one of fleeting hope. It was obvious that without a new minister, who would be much more open minded, that the dark creatures would all join Voldemort.

"We will have to keep trying until we are successful." Albus looked around expectantly for a few moments, "Well if no one has anything else to add than I think it time for us to adjourn for the evening."

"Professor, I have a question," remarked Harry. "I believe that Remus told you about my 'talk' with Voldemort the other night." Albus nodded and Harry continued, "Do you have any idea what it is that he thinks I have that he wants sir?"

"Harry, I have spoken at length with Severus about it and we believe that he may believe that you have some special power which keeps saving you from him. We believe that his strongest desire right now is to find a way to finally beat you for good. It is good that your lessons with Professor Smith are going well for I fear that he will continue to attempt to break into your mind to attain information that he can use against us."

No one had anything else to add so Albus adjourned the meeting and everyone began to get up and make their way in their separate directions. Snape stood quickly and stormed out of the room, cloak billowing as he went. This caused Professor Smith to chuckle and do a fairly good imitation of Snape's exit as he made his way upstairs for Harry's next lesson. This had the effect of sending the entire room into a gale of laughter. As the laughter started to subside, Mrs. Weasley made her way over to Harry and gave him a warm hug, consoling him on the contents of the prophecy. Harry had to endure several more people giving their support to help in any way they can, before he could finally move upstairs for his next meeting with Professor Smith. Harry entered the drawing room with a smile on his face. He made is way over to his usual chair by the fireplace, made himself comfortable, and began to clear his mind.

Several hours later, Harry and Professor Smith were calling it a night. "Harry I just want you to know that I am very impressed with your progress this week. You have come a long way in a very short time. Other than getting more peaceful rest have you noticed any other changes?"

Harry thought about the last week, "Actually sir I have noticed that I seem to be able to concentrate better. I can actually give my friend Ron a challenge at wizard's chess, and I seem to be able to learn a little faster. Is this a side effect of the occlumency training?"

"Yes it is Harry. You see by organizing your thoughts and working with a clear mind you become much more aware of what is going on around you. You don't have to spend as much time and energy searching through your thoughts and memories to find what you are looking for. I think you will also find that it helps when you are in a fight by speeding up your decision-making ability. Between this and the physical training you are doing now and will be doing in the future your dueling ability should increase dramatically."

"What new physical training will you be adding sir?"

"Once you get back to school, I expect you to begin running and doing other basic calisthenics in the mornings every morning regardless of the weather. This will build up your endurance and stamina, both are important during a time of war since battles tend to be longer and more drawn out." Professor Smith paused to consider his new student for a while before continuing, "Harry I will be honest with you. I wasn't expecting you to catch on this quickly. You have surprised me and believe me when I say that it is very difficult to surprise me. I knew that you were a powerful wizard and intelligent, but you have exceeded my expectations. Considering that you and I started from scratch, I find it amazing that I feel that you are ready to begin learning how to build your mental barriers. Once you learn that I will start trying to invade your mind. Once I feel you are doing well in our clinical situation I will begin to try to catch you off guard when we are outside this room. It will be unannounced and anywhere so you will have to always be on your guard."

Harry laughed, "You sound like Mad-Eye Moody. **Constant Vigilance!**"

"Auror Moody is a very smart man. One does not become the best without having a good head on one's shoulders." There was another pause while the professor studied Harry intently. "Harry what is bothering you? You seem to be more lost in thought tonight than normal."

"Listening to the prophecy, _neither can live while the other survives_, I don't know if I can kill someone. I realize that he is evil but killing him makes me a murderer and I don't know if I like that thought."

Professor Smith could tell this was a big sticking point for Harry. "Harry, the fact that you are questioning your ability to do this is the fundamental difference between you and Voldemort. He kills because he enjoys it, it makes him feel powerful and in control. That makes him evil and dark. You would only kill out of necessity, not because you want to but because you need to. Yes, it is bad, you will probably feel terrible about it afterward, and that is the fundamental difference. You are a human being who cares and loves, while he is a monster who doesn't feel anything but hatred."

Harry pondered this way of looking at things, he still wasn't sure if he could do it but didn't feel as wrong about it as before. They finally decided to call it enough for the night and went there separate ways. As Harry entered his room, he noticed that not only was Ron not asleep, but he wasn't alone either. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George were all sitting in the room waiting for him. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes looking at everyone, trying to discern what this was all about.

Finally, Ron spoke, "I'm sorry mate, I had no idea that you had that much weight on your shoulders." This was followed up by the others making comments that were along the same lines.

Harry was ready for them to tell him that they wanted away from him, that they didn't want that big of a target on themselves. His shoulders slumped and he began to look down at his feet. He knew that this was too much for them.

"Harry, whatever you need from us, just ask and you have it. As long as it isn't for us to go away, we're with you till the end," said a very sincere Ginny. Harry looked up to see all of them nodding in agreement and even smiling a little.

"You have no idea how that makes me feel. I thought once you guys heard that that you would want to get as far away from me as possible. I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you guys, but I am glad that I have you by my side for this." Harry just stood there and smiled back at everyone.

Fred and George walked forward giving him a smile and a slap on the back saying, "We couldn't bale on our major investor after all you did for us. Anything that we can supply for you to do this and it's yours, mate." They then made their way back to their own home.

Hermione and Ginny then got up and each gave him a big hug telling him that they would help out in whatever way they could whether with fighting or research. "That is what family does for each other, and you are part of our family." They then said goodnight and headed back to their room for the night.

Harry and Ron both got ready for bed in silence. Once in bed, Ron told Harry, "Mate, were you serious about not keeping us in the dark any more?"

"Yes Ron I was. If you remember last year, I would have to say that it is obvious that keeping a secret like that from someone ends up having a very bad ending."

Ron nodded at this statement, "Goodnight mate."

"Goodnight Ron." Harry then cleared his mind and was off to another good night's sleep.


	6. All Good Things

Nutty Al: Thanks for reviewing. I agree that my Order meeting was weak, but the way I look at it, Harry is just starting to get used to the idea of trying to control the situation so he isn't sure how much to push…..yet. Also I'm just trying to get things set up for later, so I'm just now starting to rush through the summer.

Once again, I don't own anything but the plot and some of the new characters that are coming up. The rest belongs to the wonderful mind of JK Rowling.

Everyone, please read and review.

Chapter 6 – All Good Things

The next few days flew by in a blur. Harry and his friends were beginning to work furiously at the hand-to-hand combat and really starting to get good at it. They had decided to practice every day so that they could begin to build up their endurance and stamina. They also wanted to get as good as possible as fast as possible. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had also asked Harry to start trying to teach them how to clear their minds and organize their thoughts since Harry had told them about his conversation with Professor Smith after the Order meeting. They all thought that anything that could help them get better was a good thing. Harry's training on building mental barriers was coming along quickly as well. Professor Smith had decided to start spending a little time each meeting trying to break into Harry's mind to test how well Harry's barriers were. Both pupil and teacher were very pleased with how Harry was progressing.

"Harry, I think that by the start of term that your mind could possibly be locked up tight enough to hold out anybody." The look on Professor Smith's face was one of absolute sincerity. "I have never seen anyone pick this up so quickly. In fact, you seem to be able to pick up every thing I teach you very quickly. I really am impressed."

Harry was extremely pleased by this. "Thank you, Professor. I have to say that you make things easy to understand though. If all my teachers were as good as you I would never fail at anything."

Professor Smith shook his head at this comment. "Harry, I don't really do things any differently than the rest of your teachers, well except perhaps Professor Snape. Your success has everything to do with your ability to organize your mind. Your friends seem to be picking up the hand-to-hand quite quickly as well. You and your friends should all be very proud of how well you're doing."

Harry nodded in agreement. "We have a very good reason to learn. The idea of having a very powerful dark wizard out to get you has a way of increasing your ability and desire to learn quickly."

"It is just a shame that we can't work on your dueling and spellwork, I would really like to see where you're at. I suppose that will just have to wait until September though. I want you to know that I have every intention of pushing you to your limits once we are at school. I want Voldemort to know that you are no longer a little boy who is simply reacting, but a young man who is making a stand for what is right."

Harry found this teacher to be very inspiring. "Professor, can I ask you something?"

"Fire away."

"I've noticed that you are willing to say Voldemort and hear it without wincing, does this mean that you aren't scared of him?"

"A very valid question Harry. No, I would have to say that I am not afraid of him. He is just another dark wizard in my book. He may be powerful, but he is also arrogant. That makes him fallible and beatable. Does that mean that I think I could go toe-to-toe with him alone and win? No, but I do feel that I could hold my own, and maybe even weaken him until help arrived."

Harry pondered his teacher for a moment before asking, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Harry, I once heard a saying: 'To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.' I have a well-organized mind. As long as I am killed in the fight against the dark, I am content to go peacefully on to the next great adventure. If my death brings more life for the side that I fight for, I will go on proudly. Any true warrior feels that way." The professor paused for a moment and continued, "Harry, I believe in you and would willingly lay down my life to help you achieve your goal. I can feel the power radiating off of you. It is there, under the surface, just waiting for you to tap into it. I have no doubt that the prophecy was truly meant for you, and when the time comes, you will have everything it takes to fulfill it."

Harry was taken aback by this comment. He hadn't known this man even a month and yet there was already a feeling of confidence in him coming from this man. "I'm glad that you feel so strongly about my ability, sir, but I don't think I am ready just yet."

The Professor chuckled then said, "I didn't say you were ready. I said you have the power. You simply need to tap into it. Then you will almost be ready."

"Almost? What do you mean, almost?"

The professor smiled, "You still have to learn more about dueling before you will be ready. Power alone cannot win this fight. Remember, Voldemort has many years of experience on his side. You have youthful energy and quickness on your side, but inexperience is your downfall. We will be working on that a lot once we get to school."

They finished their conversation and Professor Smith headed off for the night. Harry was soon joined by his friends, in the drawing room. They had gotten into the habit of gathering together after Harry's training sessions to relax and play some games. They liked the opportunity to wind down at the end of the day, and Harry liked the idea of being able to spend time just being Harry. Even though this had started out to be one of the worst summers he had ever had, it had ended up turning into one of the best.

The next day was also a busy one, and the professor worked his students very hard that night. He had decided to begin pushing them to exhaustion to see how far they could go. The end result was four very tired teens who didn't feel like doing anything but sleep.

Harry found himself alone in his room. It was still very dark and he was unsure what time it was. He also noticed that it was unusually quiet in the house. He sat up and slowly stood noticing that there was an uneasy feeling in the air. Something didn't feel right. He grabbed his wand from the bedside table and made his way out of the room. Once in the hallway, he noticed the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Yes, something felt very wrong about this. The house was never this quiet, there was usually someone up and about at all times.

Harry made his way over to the bathroom to see if Ron had gone there only to find it was empty. He made his way over to Hermione and Ginny's room and was distraught to find it empty as well. Harry's heart rate quickened as he started to feel even more worried. Where were his friends? Where was everybody?

As he stood in the hall asking himself these questions, he thought he finally heard something. A noise, though it was a very soft noise, came from downstairs. Harry raised his wand, gripping it tightly, and went toward the noise. He moved down the stairs with surprising stealth until he came to rest on the bottom landing. He scanned the ground floor listening for even the slightest sound. After a moment, he heard it again. It was clearly the sound of a voice, a male voice, and it was coming from the kitchen. Harry's heart was now beating so hard that he was sure he would be heard. He was uncertain who or what was on the other side of that door, but he needed to know. He had to know why the house seemed to be empty and what happened to all of his friends.

He slowly moved to the door preparing for the worst. When he couldn't hold his curiosity anymore, he decided to act. He was going to have surprise on his side, he threw open the door any charged into the room ready to hex anything that moved. What he saw caused him to stop dead in his tracks and nearly faint.

"Hello Harry. It's good to see you again."

Harry was stunned to silence. Of all the people that he would see in this room, this man was the last one he would have expected. Sitting on the far side of the table with a grin from ear to ear was Sirius Black.

"How?" It was all Harry could do just to get this out. "How? You're dead. I saw you fall through the veil."

"Yes Harry, you're right, I am dead."

"If you're dead, then how are you here? Are you a ghost then?"

"No Harry, I'm not a ghost. You aren't even awake right now. You're dreaming. This was the only way I could visit you."

Harry's heart was in his throat, now. Seeing his godfather face to face was quite overwhelming. The tears began to flow fast and freely. "Sirius I'm so sorry. I should have known it wasn't true. I was so stupid."

"STOP! It was not your fault. You were fooled into believing something and you did what you felt was right." Sirius stood up and walked over to Harry. "I don't hold you responsible for anything. It was more my fault than yours anyway. If I hadn't been so arrogant to taunt my cousin, the tables might have been turned. I am very proud of how well you and your friends handled yourselves. You were outnumbered, but you all kept your heads about you, and held your own until we arrived." As he finished speaking, he pulled Harry into a hug.

Harry continued to cry onto his godfathers shoulder making no attempt to control his emotions what so ever. After what seemed like an eternity, his tears began to subside and he stood back from Sirius. "So, Sirius, what are you doing in my dreams? Are you just here to say hi?"

Sirius looked at his godson, "I am actually here to talk to you about some things. I have also been watching you for some time and am really impressed with your progress. You are coming into your power quite nicely, and I'm sure that you will be ready for what lies ahead of you. I see Albus finally filled you in on the prophecy. It's about time that old codger finally did something right. I was trying to get him to fill you in on that all year telling him that you needed to know, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Harry just stood nodding in agreement for a moment. As he did, a thought hit him, "Sirius! If you can come back in my dreams, does that mean that other people can too?"

Sirius saw the hopeful look in Harry's eyes. He could see the person, or should he say people, that Harry was hoping to be able to see. He slowly shook his head, "No Harry, because of how I died and the fact that you saw it is the only reason that I can. Your parents would like nothing more than to come talk to you and are very jealous that I can, but they are happy nonetheless that at least I can pass along information for them."

"Your father wanted me to tell you that he expects you to uphold the marauder traditions of pranking and becoming an animagus, and I have to totally agree with prongs on that. That is why those books were left for you, and do try to get some others to join you since it is easier to do that if you're not alone." This caused both of them to smile and let out some small laughs.

"Your mother wanted me to tell you to give the jewelry to someone very special. She also wants you to follow your heart. She can see how much you seem to like a certain red head and wants you to know that she approves of your choice." Sirius was smiling a very large smile at this while Harry could feel himself blush. Did he really feel that strongly for Ginny? So strongly that his parents could see it?

As Harry sat there pondering things, he had a realization, "You said you had been watching me for a while. Why didn't you try to contact me earlier?"

Sirius smiled a knowing smile and replied, "I wondered when you would pick up on that. I felt I had to wait until you would be able to accept that it is in fact me, and not old snake face trying to manipulate you. I realized that if I had made myself known to you any earlier you probably would have thought it a trick, but since your ability to shut him out has improved so well, I knew the time was right."

Harry could understand that but was now somewhat worried, could this be a trick from Voldemort? "What did you want my friends and me to refer to you as in public?"

Sirius laughed, "Snuffles. I was actually surprised that you didn't try that earlier."

"Well you sort of surprised me at first, I thought that I had woken up and the house was empty. It was a frightening experience not knowing what to expect around every corner. I was worried that headquarters had been found out and all of my friends had been taken. Did you have to scare me like that?"

"Sorry Harry, I wasn't sure how to make my presence known to you. I figured that showing myself in a familiar surrounding would be helpful. I also wanted to let you find me instead of the other way around; I thought it might be easier on you." Sirius thought for a few minutes more and kept going, "Harry I know that Moony gave you some information about my estate, there are a few things that you should know about that. First, there are four properties that you are now in possession of; there is a book up in my room that details where these properties are and how to find them. Now the contents of my vaults are quite considerable since I was the heir of the Black family estate not only do you get what was mine but my parent's stuff as well. Combine that with what you will be able to access when you turn 17 of your parent's family vault and I believe that you will be without a doubt the richest wizard in the world."

"What do you mean my parent's family vault? I thought that my vault was all my parents left me."

Sirius laughed, "That was just a trust account for you to use to get through school. The contents of your family vault make that look like spare change. Besides there is more than just money in that vault. There are also some family heirlooms being held there. You come from a very wealthy family, Harry. In fact, the Potters and Blacks were two of the oldest and wealthiest families in the wizarding world, if you combine them into one, that is a very substantial sum. The fact is Harry, you could probably never work, and your great-great-great grandchildren would still have no financial trouble."

Harry stood there in shock. He was already awestruck by how much money he knew he had, and now he found out that was just the tip of the iceberg. Harry thought for a few moments, "Sirius, once I have access to your vaults would you mind if I gave some to the Weasleys? They have been the family that I never got to have and I would like to repay some of their kindness."

"That is very considerate of you Harry, and I have no problem with that. However, if I know Molly and Arthur as well as I think I do, I don't think they will be too eager to accept. They're very proud people and don't respond well to charity on their behalf. You may have to do a lot of convincing to get them to take anything from you."

"I think you're right, but I have to try. I don't really want the money for myself; I'd rather have you still." Both of them stood in silence for a few minutes just contemplating what had transpired.

Sirius broke the silence, "Harry, I need to tell you that this year you are going to be doing a lot of growing in power and ability. I can't tell you much more about that except that it will all become clear in time. You can trust Professor Smith with anything, he is a good man and will be honest with you about the things you need to know and help you in any way he can. I can't tell you why but understand that he is more trustworthy than anyone in the Order." Sirius paused to let this sink in, "You are a powerful wizard Harry, never forget that. Now it is time for you to start to wake up, since your friends will be waking soon."

Harry was momentarily reeling from this last bit of information from Sirius, "Sirius, will I be able to talk to you some more?"

"I'm sorry Harry, but this will be my only contact with you. It is not good for you to dwell in the past. Just know that I don't hold any ill will toward you and tell Remus that we all love him dearly as we do you. Be good Harry, and oh by the way, Happy Birthday."

As Sirius said those last words everything faded to black and Harry woke up to hearing Ron's familiar snores. Harry had tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks, "Goodbye Padfoot, I'll never forget you."

Harry sat in silent tears for a few minutes remembering his visit fondly. He would do as he was told and not dwell in the past, no matter how much he wanted to. He took a few more minutes to compose himself before the comprehension of what his godfather said to him came to him fully. "Today is my birthday!"

Harry was astonished that he hadn't realized that on his own. As much as his birthday had gone unnoticed over the course of his life, he at least usually remembered it on his own. The more Harry thought about it though, he realized that his time had been so filled with distractions that it made sense that he had lost track of the days.

Well this had been a good start to the day, he had had a chance to speak with the man that he missed the most over the course of the last month. It was bittersweet in that it was the only chance he would have to visit with him, but he had been given a chance to close the wounds that he had placed on himself about his role in Sirius' death.

Harry finally decided it was time to get up and start the day. After his normal morning bathroom routine, he returned to his room to find Ron waking up. "Oi Ron, wake up I can smell breakfast is almost ready."

Ron shot Harry a look, "Hey, food isn't all I think about you know." After a few seconds he continued, "But I am hungry, let's go."

Harry laughed at his friend. Someday Ron would just accept that his first thought was always about food. He even knew that the person that Ron ended up marrying would win him over through his stomach. They made their way downstairs, into the kitchen, for breakfast. They were the first, other than Mrs. Weasley, to arrive in the kitchen and were greeted as usual by her. Soon, the kitchen began to fill with the inhabitants of the house and a very enjoyable meal was underway. As the meal was wrapping up, Professor Dumbledore entered the room causing everyone in the room to wonder what was up.

"Good morning everyone. I have just stopped by to drop off a few things that I thought some of you might find of interest." As he said this, the Headmaster pulled some envelopes out of his pockets. "I believe that you in particular Ms. Granger have been awaiting this for some time."

At this pronouncement, Hermione's eyes became wide as saucers and her hands began to shake. "Are those our OWLS?"

"Yes, they are. I took the liberty of delivering them myself, seeing as how no owl other than Hedwig or Pig would be able to find this house." He handed each letter to its recipient and waited. "I am quite sure they won't bite," he said with a smile, the trademark twinkle in his eyes.

Everyone in the room was now looking at the three teens in anticipation. "Well come on dears, open them up and let us see how you did," said Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley nodded in agreement along with Ginny, Tonks, and Remus who was looking more haggard than usual.

With much trepidation, all three of them slowly opened their letters. Hermione's face was alight with pleasure. "I got ten OWLS! I got O's in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmancy. I only managed an E in Astronomy and History of Magic, but considering what happened during those tests, that's quite good." Hermione proceeded to receive congratulations from everyone and looked over to Ron and Harry in anticipation.

Ron was smiling, "I got seven, and two of them were O's. DADA and Care of Magical Creatures. I got E's in Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology, and A's in Potions and Astronomy. Excellent! No more Snape! I got D's in Divination and History of Magic, not much of a surprise there." Everyone proceeded to give Ron congratulations as well as a bone-crushing hug from his mum.

Now all eyes were turned to Harry, who was staring at his letter with an open mouth. "I got an O in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions." The stunned silence in the room was profound. "I got E's in Transfiguration and Herbology, and an A in Astronomy. I failed Divination and History of Magic." Ginny who had been sitting beside him, leaned over to see his letter herself. She gave him a happy smile and patted him on the back.

Hermione reached out for the parchment and took it from him. She studied it closely and said, "Well done Harry, seven OWLS." Ron interjected, "Well you still have a chance to be an Auror even if it means more Snape. Sorry Mate." This caused Harry to break into a smile and laugh a bit. "Well at least neither of us has to keep taking classes with Trelawney." This last comment caused a laugh by everyone in the room.

Professor Dumbledore stood watching the scene for a few minutes before interrupting again. "Well done all of you, now if you will just take the time to look at the other letter that each of you received. You will find that you have until this weekend to let us know what classes you intend to take this coming year so that we can set the schedules for the year." The Headmaster paused and then continued, "I have other things to attend to, so I'll be going now. I'll return this weekend to pickup your replies. Good day, oh and Harry, Happy Birthday."

Everyone was now wishing Harry a Happy Birthday, which reminded him about his conversation with Sirius. Harry was quiet for a few moments contemplating whether to talk about his conversation with Sirius or not. Harry saw Remus getting up to leave when he decided to act.

"Remus, can I have a word with you alone."

Harry's friends gave him suspicious looks, which he returned with looks of 'I'll tell you later'. Remus was also looking questioningly at Harry, "Sure Harry."

They headed in the direction of the drawing room when Harry stopped them and said,"How about we talk in your room or better yet Sirius' old room?"

Remus stopped and began to give Harry very appraising looks, "What are you on about Harry? What is it you want to talk about?"

"Please Remus, I need to talk to you, and I would really like to do it in Sirius' room."

Remus continued to look at Harry suspiciously but agreed. They made their way up to Sirius' room, pausing at the door, "Harry, I feel the need to warn you that Sirius was the last person to actually be in this room. No one has touched anything in here since then."

"It's OK Remus, I think it's time that we started taking care of his belongings."

They both nodded at each other, then taking deep breaths they opened the door and walked in. The room was very dark and depressing; it was obvious that this room was left in a hurry. A four-poster bed sat against one sidewall with the covers still looking like they had just been slept in. Against the far wall there sat a large desk with various objects spread out on it all covered in a thin layer of dust. There was a doorway leading to a large walk-in closet on the other side of the room from the bed. In a corner, there were a couple of armchairs flanking a small sitting table.

"How come the room hasn't been cleaned?"

"Harry, I told you that no one has been in here since Sirius left."

"I know, but why hasn't Kreacher at least come in to tidy up?"

"Well, Harry, that would be because Kreacher died. He refused to be passed on to you so he chose to join his ancestors on the wall. However, we decided that it would be more appropriate to remove all of the elf heads."

"Harry, what is it you need to talk to me about, and why is it so important to do it now and here? You do realize that last night was the full moon and I could use some more rest to recuperate don't you?"

"I'm sorry Remus, I forgot about that. I've had so much going on lately that I've completely lost track of the days." Harry paused wondering if he should really go on. "Remus could you put a silencing charm on the door and an imperturbable as well, I'm not sure that I'm ready to tell the others yet."

Remus was really confused now; he knew that this must be something very important to Harry for him to go to these lengths. He did as he was asked and they both sat down in the armchairs.

"Remus, I had a dream last night. Sirius was here in the house and he spoke with me."

Of all of the things that Remus was expecting to hear, this was not one of them. He began to get a little concerned, "Are you certain it wasn't something else?"

Sensing what Remus was about to ask, Harry cut him off, "No I'm sure it wasn't Voldemort. It was Sirius, I even asked him a question to verify it was him." Harry proceeded to tell Remus all about the dream. He got the typical responses and looks at the various points in the story where new and improbable information was revealed. Once Harry finished his story, they both pondered what had happened.

Remus looked at Harry with a slight smile, "I do have to agree with old Padfoot about the reaction of the Weasleys. I am quite sure they will fight you tooth and nail about the money. They are a proud family and aren't very wild about accepting charity."

"Yeah, I know, but I have to try anyway. I have more than I'll ever need and they deserve it for all they have done for each other and for me." Harry sat for a second looking around the room, "Where do you think the book Sirius was talking about is? He did say it is in here somewhere."

Remus got up and moved over to the desk, "If I know Padfoot as well as I think I do, it's got to be in one of the drawers in this desk."

They proceeded to look over the desk and go through the drawers. As Harry opened the top right hand drawer, he saw something that made him freeze. Remus noticed the sudden stillness of the young man and tried to find out what was wrong. He looked in the drawer to see what Harry was looking at only to see a small hand mirror. He looked back at Harry to see tears starting to form in his eyes. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"S-S-Sirius' mirror," Harry stuttered, "He gave me the other mirror last Christmas. They are both enchanted so we could communicate with each other. He gave it to me wrapped up just as we were about to leave and I vowed that I would not open it because I didn't want to chance putting him in danger. I didn't find it again until I was packing my trunk to return to Privet Drive. Once I found it again I realized that there had been a way to contact Sirius all along. If I had just opened the present, I would have been able to contact him and he would still be alive." The floodgates of Harry's tears were open again.

Remus was fighting back tears now as well, "Now Harry, I thought we were past blaming ourselves for what happened. You did what you thought you had to to protect Sirius, and he told you himself that he held nothing against you."

"I know," Harry sniffled, "I just wish that I had opened the present now. I could have prevented this. I know I don't have any control over other people's actions but I could have done things differently. Knowing that still doesn't stop me from hurting."

"I know, Harry, I know." Remus held Harry for a few more minutes then said, "Now let's see if we can find that book."

They slowly continued the task of searching through the desk, opening a drawer, and sifting through the contents before moving on to the next drawer. Every now and then they would come across something that would make Remus remember something funny about one of the Marauders or their pranks, and they would share a laugh. They finally found the book in the last drawer in the desk. It was a somewhat old looking book with a worn binding and slightly yellowing pages.

"Well Harry, I do believe this is what you are looking for." Remus handed the book to Harry.

Harry opened the book to find not only the details about the properties but a very detailed account of all of the Black assets. The total value of the contents of all of the Black family vaults came to approximately 500 million galleons. Harry's jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment. He could only imagine what his own family vault had to offer. If it was anywhere near this much he wouldn't have the first clue what to do with it. The list of properties was quite impressive as well. They were all unplotable and very well hidden with various charms. There was of course Number Twelve Grimmauld Place in London. There was also an estate near the coast in a forest just east of York called Black Manor. The third property was a castle in the Scottish highlands just outside of Inverness with the very imaginative name of Black Castle. Finally, there was another castle in Scotland northwest of Stirling. Harry was dumbfounded, now not only was he rich beyond all imagination, but he had two unplotable castles to go with it.

"Remus, I need to get these places put under the Fidelius charm as soon as possible, I don't want any of Voldemort's followers to be able to find them. Do you know how to do that?"

Remus was staring blankly at Harry, "What places Harry? From what I see, the pages of that book are blank. Are you telling me that there is actually something written on those pages?"

Harry was puzzled by this, "What, you mean you can't see what's written here. This gives a detailed description of the entire Black estate. It describes the total value of the contents of the Black family vaults and descriptions of the four Black family properties. I apparently own two castles in Scotland now."

At this Remus' chin hit the floor, "Two castles? I knew the Black family was well off but if they had two castles they might as well have been royalty. I've never heard of a wizard family having two castles before. As far as I know, the Malfoy family doesn't even have one castle."

Remus took another look at the book, "You know Harry; I believe your book is protected by the Heir charm, meaning that only the true heir of a family can read that book. It also means that the book acts like the Fidelius charm. The information can only be seen by the heir, in this case you, until you willingly divulge the information to another person, meaning that the properties are under the fidelius in a way. It should also be able to add the holdings of the Potter estate once you have reached the age of 17. Then once you have an heir to pass it on to it would allow them to read it as well."

Harry and Remus stood in silence for a few minutes, once again pondering a wondrous amount of information. This was turning out to be a very eventful birthday and it was barely getting started.


	7. One Surprise After Another

Ginny05- Thank you for the kind review. I greatly appreciate it.

Authors note: I am terrible with writing accents and house elf speech so just imagine that the various characters are speaking the words that I write with the appropriate accent please. Once again please remember I own nothing except the new characters and the plot.

Chapter 7 – One Surprise After Another 

Harry and Remus spent about another hour going through Sirius' old room, Remus had removed the charms on the door after their talk. They would come across different things that would remind Remus of a story about the Marauders. They talked and laughed, finally getting to let the pain go and truly accept the changes in their lives.

It was after a rather hilarious story, which was very embarrassing to both Sirius and James, that Harry's friends came upon them rolling on the floor clutching their sides in laughter. "Well this is getting to be a habit, seems like every time the two of you disappear together you end up being found in fits of laughter." Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were standing in the doorway smiling at their friend. Ginny continued, "It's good to see your having a good birthday."

Harry took a few more moments to calm down enough to speak, "Yeah I suppose you could say I'm having a pretty good birthday. Now that I have my friends around me, it's bound to get even better." He was smiling back at his friends with a genuinely happy smile that made it hard to believe that he was anything but normal. By the look of utter joy and contentment on his face, it was hard to tell that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was undeniable he was happy, happier than he had ever been.

Ron spoke up, "So what's so funny, Harry?"

Harry and Remus shot each other a look and broke into another fit of laughter causing the three new arrivals to look at each other quizzically. They eventually calmed down enough to fill the others in on the various stories and after a while, everyone had tears in their eyes from all of the laughing being done. They were all so relaxed it felt good. They needed this release from all of the stress and worry in their lives.

After a while, the laughter died down and the conversation turned to why Harry and Remus came in here in the first place. Harry hesitated before remembering his pledge of openness to his friends. He then recounted his dream and once again received the usual reactions, which Remus helped him to soothe. When he got to describing the book, he began to feel curious about the properties again. Harry was sitting on the bed holding the book with Ginny sitting on his right with her left hand on the book. Ron, Remus, and Hermione were all standing around the other two with hands resting on their shoulders looking over their shoulders. It was while in this position that Harry said, "I just wish I could see these other properties, I would really like to see Black Castle."

As he finished the sentence, he felt the familiar jerk behind his navel. They were all being pulled through a swirl of color and a howl of wind. Their feet hit the ground and due to the surprise of the situation, no one was able to remain on their feet. Harry jumped up first wand in hand, followed closely by all the others. They weren't sure what to expect, so they kept their guard up, listening intently to the sounds in this place.

They were in a large room with a set of mahogany double doors behind them and a doorway on each other wall of the room. The doorway on the wall in front of them was flanked on each side by a pair of grand looking semi-circular staircases with a joined landing above the doorway. The décor in the room was dark and uninviting causing them to feel the need to be cautious. There were torches lining the wall that had seemed to flare to life as soon as they appeared, along with a couple of paintings of people who looked somewhat familiar but Harry didn't know.

It was while looking at one of these paintings that someone finally spoke in a thick Scottish accent, "You don't look like a Black. How did you come to be here?"

The group was stunned, Harry stepped forward to the painting and replied, "Sorry sir, but we aren't exactly sure how we got here. One minute we were all sitting in a room looking at that book on the floor over there, and the next minute we were here. Could you please tell me where we are?"

The portrait looked quizzically at Harry for a moment, "What book were you looking at?"

Harry pointed to the book on the floor again not wanting to pick it up for fear of being Portkeyed somewhere else, "That book on the floor."

The Portrait scoffed, "My eyesight is not that good, would you bring it closer so that I can see it properly?"

Harry was still apprehensive, but did as he was asked. He picked up the book and walked over to the portrait holding it up to be looked at.

The portrait was now joined by the inhabitant of the other portrait in the room, both of them looking skeptically at the book and then the new arrivals in the room. "Tell me can you read this book?"

Harry replied, "Yes sir I can, but it seems that I am the only one who can, my friends can't seem to see any words on the pages."

The portraits looked at each other again and spoke, "As I said earlier you don't look like a Black, so my question is how do you find yourself being able to read this book?"

Harry was beginning to feel like he understood what happened, "Sirius Black was my godfather, since he had no other family to pass on his belongings I am his only heir. This book is not only a list of the family assets but a portkey between them as well isn't it?"

The portraits looked at each other again, and then the woman spoke, "You say that Sirius was your godfather? Do I take it to mean that he is no longer alive, and if so that our line has now come to an end?"

Now Remus spoke up, "There are still bloodlines of Black cousins who have married, but yes the name of Black has come to an end. I take it that you are some of Sirius' ancestors?"

The two portraits seemed to become depressed, "Yes," the man spoke again, "I am Ailbert Black, and this is my wife Moireach. We are the first of our family to posses this castle. We were really where the present-day Black family began. It has been many a year since anyone has come here. You must be quite pure of heart young man, or you would not have been able to learn of this castle, for only someone pure of heart and intention can read about the castles in that book."

Harry and company were all exchanging questioning looks. "Please excuse our confusion," said Harry, "You just don't seem like the members of the Black family we have met, other than Sirius."

Moireach let out a laugh, "Of course not, over the centuries the family has become a bit pompous and dark in their beliefs, this is not what we would have chosen for our family to become. We feared that the money we had would corrupt our heirs at some point down the line so we charmed that book to only let an heir who believed as we do to find the castles and the secrets contained within these walls. You are obviously the heir since only an heir can read the information in the book, and you must also be a young man of pure heart and intentions to be able to find out about the castles."

Ailbert interjected, "Now young man, you now who we are, but we don't know who you are. I believe that it is time for you to share your identity with us, as well as that of your friends."

"Oh I'm sorry, my name is Harry Potter and these are my friends Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Ginny Weasley."

The two Blacks shot each other a curious look, "Did you say you're a Potter?"

"Yes, do you know of my family?"

"If you are of the same Potter line that we know of, then yes, we do know of your ancestors. Your family goes back a long way, young man, and if I am not mistaken, so does yours young Mr. and Ms. Weasley. I do not recognize the surnames of Lupin or Granger though, where are your families from?"

Hermione spoke first somewhat hesitant of what the reaction would be, "I don't think that you would know of my family, I am the first witch in my family, all those before me were all muggles."

Remus added, "My family also is descended from muggles, however not as recently as Hermione."

"Ah, that would explain," responded Ailbert. He could see the apprehensive looks on the visitors' faces, "Don't worry as I said earlier we do not feel the same way as our descendants. You have nothing to fear from us, we know that at some time all magical beings were born from non-magic beings."

Moireach added, "We know of both Potters and Weasleys, both families have always had qualities which we have found very agreeable. The Potters have always been brave and noble, standing up for what they believe to be right. The Weasleys have always been loyal and trustworthy. If in fact you do come from these lines then you are more than acceptable to have access to these properties."

Harry decided to press for more information, "How exactly did we manage to get here, and where are we?"

"Oh I am sorry, this is Black Castle, and the only way that you could have come here is to ask to be here while holding the book. It is charmed in many ways, as you may have figured out. That book is the key to attaining anything in it. Only an Heir can read it, and in so doing get to the properties and access the vaults. The book acts as a portkey between all of the properties the heir can read about, all you have to do is hold the book and request to go to a specific property. Once you have been to the property, you no longer need to portkey there, it is necessary for showing you the whereabouts of the properties the first time. In addition, the properties are protected by many secrecy charms to keep their locations and even existence a secret from anyone who the heir does not willingly show. No one can force you to show them the properties or extract the information from you unless you want them to know it."

Harry nodded, "So what about people who already knew about the properties or were living in them? Wouldn't they still have knowledge of the buildings and be able to access them?"

Ailbert responded, "Yes they would but once the new heir took possession of the book they would be able to remove anyone who they wished to remove and the knowledge would be removed from them as well, thus protecting the property. This is something that you don't really need to worry about though, since all properties except the one in London have been vacant and unknown for many centuries. As we said before it has been many years since there has been anyone to visit let alone live here."

The group spent the next hour getting to know more about each other and each other's times. They learned that Ailbert was a Scottish Lord who had been granted this castle and lands back in the year 752 after his marriage to Moireach. The other castle, known as Macnicol Keep, had belonged to Lord Gordain Macnicol and his wife Colina. Their lands were part of the Black heritage now, due to the marriage of Annabel, the daughter and only child of their only heir three generations later, to Kerr Black, the heir of the Black family. It was Kerr and Annabel who had moved the Black family out of Scotland and into England by building Black Manor. It was also revealed that the last time anyone had been in either castle had been some 700 years.

As they reached the end of the hour, Remus reminded them that they should be getting back to Grimmauld Place, since no one actually knew that they were gone to begin with, and if a certain elder female Weasley discovered their disappearance that she would be quite upset. There was a definite agreement with that thought, so they bid farewell to the Blacks promising to return soon, and Harry portkeyed them all back to headquarters. They landed back in Sirius' room and made their way down to the kitchen for lunch.

They determined that no one had noticed that they were ever gone; although once Mrs. Weasley found out, she was a little upset about it. After a long discussion, it was decided that Professor Flitwick should come by and check the book over to make sure that there were no dangerous charms, hexes, or curses on it before they used it again. Even though Harry was sure it was ok, he agreed to have it checked just to pacify the older Weasleys.

After lunch, and after promising not to use the book, Harry took the book back to his room and stowed it away in his trunk. The four teens then decided it was time to do some more practicing. They proceeded to attempt to beat each other up for the next couple of hours, and then Harry began to help them continue learning to clear their minds. After a couple more hours, they all decided to go clean up and relax until dinner. They gathered in the drawing room to play some games of chess, exploding snap, and do some reading.

A while later, it was time for dinner so they headed down to the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, Harry was assaulted by an incredible amount of noise in the form of shouts of Happy Birthday. The room was full of Order members. All of the Weasleys, except Percy, were there along with Moody, Tonks, Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arabella Figg, Hagrid, and Professors Smith, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Dumbledore. There was a spread of food on the table to rival the holiday feasts that Mrs. Weasley was famous for. Everyone sat down to a very noisy yet enjoyable dinner. After dinner, there was cake, which was decorated with Harry in his Gryffindor quidditch robes on his Firebolt chasing a golden snitch. Everyone gave a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, and then dug in for desert.

After all the food had been consumed, it was time to open presents. The twins gave him a gift box full of various products that they sold in their shop. They also made a point of telling him to come by the shop sometime to take a look at his investment. Ron got him a selection of his favorite sweets. Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, Arabella, Hagrid, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hermione all got him books about defense covering everything from spells to how to become an Auror. From Charlie and Bill he got a pair of dragon hide boots that were charmed to keep his feet comfortable no matter what the weather conditions, leave no footprints, and make no sound. Professor Smith got him a nice wand holster for his wrist, designed to be completely hidden and allow for quick access to his wand. Professor Dumbledore truly surprised him with his own Pensive, telling him that he thought he could find a few good uses for it. Ginny gave him a small album full of pictures of his friends around school. The picture in front was one of the entire DA, and the one in the back was one of just the group that had gone to the Department of Mysteries, his closest group of friends. Remus gave him a framed picture of his father playing quidditch, which brought tears to Harry's eyes..

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stepped forward with their gift. Harry opened the box and froze looking at the contents. He slowly looked up at the eldest Weasleys with tears in his eyes, then moved over to them, and gave them both a hug and a sniffle-filled 'thank you'. The rest of the group was curious as to what had gotten Harry so choked up. Ginny got up and moved over to the hugging trio and looking into the box, gave her own little sob and said, "Oh Harry. Welcome to the family." She then held up the box to show the rest of the group the metal arrow with Harry's name on it. It was his own hand for the Weasley family clock. As comprehension dawned on all of the faces in the room, there was not a dry eye to be had. If there was ever any doubt that Harry had a family who cared about him, there was not one any more. He was now an official honorary Weasley and he couldn't be happier.

After the party, Bill and Professors Flitwick and Dumbledore asked Harry to bring the book Sirius told him about to them in the living room where they would check it over for anything dangerous. Harry took all of his gifts up to his room and brought the book back down for the others to check. Then Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all headed down to the basement to do their training with Professor Smith.

After training when they were on their way back up to get ready for bed, Professor Dumbledore stopped Harry to give him his book telling him that they found nothing dangerous with it, then bid his goodnight. Harry settled down for bed realizing that this was the absolute best birthday he ever had.

For the rest of the week, the four teens decided that each day they would spend a few hours exploring the two castles and talking with the portraits in both. Before long, Harry learned that he had an extensive library available to him in both castles. The thing that made them special was that they were full of older books that were full of spells that had been long forgotten for one reason or another. Needless to say, Hermione was in her own little heaven. They also found extensive armories with weapons and armor that were in various states of disrepair, obviously seven centuries of neglect takes its toll on metal. They also learned that not only were the castles quite large, but the grounds outside were very extensive and also protected by the charms for a five mile radius around each castle.

They found their conversations with the various portraits to be very informative as well. They learned that the charms and enchantments were so extensive that any magic performed there could not be detected in any way. They decided that they needed to bring Professor Smith here to work with them on their spell work and dueling. Professor Smith agreed that would be an exceptional opportunity to see for himself what Harry and his friends were capable of. They also wanted to bring Bill to check over the various enchantments and make sure that they were still in effect and see if there was anything that could be added to make them even safer. They learned that the Macnicols were just as kind and helpful as the Blacks, causing their visits to both castles to be informative and enjoyable.

On their first visit to Black Manor, they learned that there were portraits of the Blacks and Macnicols there as well. It was through these portraits that the original portraits in the castles knew that the manor had been long since occupied. There was a library here as well that contained some newer books, many of which dealt with dark magic. They could see where the dark days of the Black family began. Harry made a note to himself to check out the books in this library so he had a better idea of what he was up against. He figured that learning about dark magic would help him learn to defeat it.

The Saturday following Harry's birthday arrived and so did Professor Dumbledore at breakfast. It was time to reply to the headmaster about what classes they wanted to take. To be honest, Harry had completely forgotten about that. Harry and Ron's choices were both very similar. They both chose Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and of course Defense Against the Dark Arts. The differences were Ron added Astronomy while Harry added Potions since he needed it to become an Auror. Hermione just shook her head at the thought of her two friends only taking the minimum number of classes required for sixth year. She ended up choosing to take every class she got an OWL in except History of Magic, since it was no longer given after OWLS.

Professor Dumbledore nodded at each of the students as they gave him their respective lists. Before he left he turned back to Harry and spoke, "Harry, I have one other thing to discuss with you."

Harry looked at the wizard and nodded for him to continue. "Harry, I have come to ask a favor from you on behalf of two others in my employ. It has come to the attention of these two individuals that you have some properties that are in need of attention and they would like to offer their services to you."

Harry looked at the Professor with confusion on his face, "What do you mean, sir? Who do you employ that would want to work for me?"

The Professor smiled and continued, "It seems that there are two house elves at Hogwarts that would like to have a family to look after again." At this he called out, "Dobby! Winky!"

The two house elves appeared with a loud pop next to the Headmaster and bowed low. Everyone in the room had a surprised expression on their face, but none so more than Harry. Harry stood up, moved over to the two house elves, and sat on the floor in front of them. Dobby looked up with hopeful eyes while Winky had a surprised look in her eyes; no wizard had ever come down to her level before.

Harry looked at them for a little longer and asked, "Why do you want to work for me? Are you not happy working at the school?"

Dobby shook his head, "No, Harry Potter sir, that's not it at all sir. We both like working at the school, but we would prefer to work for just one family instead, Harry Potter sir." Winky was just nodding in agreement as Dobby spoke.

Harry considered the two house elves for another moment, "You do realize that I will not be around my properties during most of the school year and you won't have many people to look after during that time."

This time Winky responded, "It has been said that you have some properties that have not been lived in for a while. We could be kept quite busy tending to those for you, and if you needed us for any reason you would be able to call us to Hogwarts to help you."

Harry contemplated a little more before continuing, "I thought that house elves needed people to look after? Wouldn't you get lonely not having people around all of the time to look after?"

The Professor could see that he had some explaining to do. "Harry, there is something you need to understand about House elves. There are two kinds of house elves. The ones at Hogwarts are the kind that live to help many with no worry about a specific person or family. Dobby and Winky are family house elves. They need a specific family to look after. They can work in an environment like Hogwarts for a time, but eventually they need to have a family to look after. If they go to long without a family to look after, they will loose their ability to do magic and shortly after that they will die."

Hermione let out a gasp while bringing her hands to her mouth. Ron and Ginny also had astounded looks on their faces and then looked at Hermione with a look of compassion. It was obvious that in Hermione's zeal to acquire rights for house elves she didn't learn about the necessary connection to a family. Harry gave Hermione the same look as the others, then turned back to the two elves in front of him.

"I would be honored to have you take care of me and my family, but I do have a few conditions that you have to agree to first." Harry looked at both of the elves, who both had looks of worry on their faces. "First, I will from time to time give you clothing that I think looks nice as a gift. This does not mean that I am dismissing you. If I ever decide to dismiss you I will tell you that I am setting you free and only then will you be released from my service." Both elves nodded as Harry continued, "Second, I forbid you from hurting yourselves as a punishment." Dobby smiled at this. "Third, I want you to consider me, and anyone else that I identify to you, a friend. You are under no circumstance to call me master or sir, just Harry is fine. And last, you are to have an allowance to use to get anything that you wish for yourselves or for others as gifts from yourselves." Harry continued to look at the two elves, "Do you agree to my terms?"

Dobby and Winky looked at each other and then back to Harry. Dobby spoke first, "I agree to your terms Harry Po…Um Harry." Harry smiled and then looked at Winky, "What about you Winky?" Winky looked nervous, "I also agree to your terms, ma.. Harry."

Harry had a huge grin on his face, "Well then, welcome to my family." Harry then proceeded to introduce the two elves to the rest of his "family" and explain in more detail about the other properties. Hermione couldn't help but apologize several times to the elves for not knowing about the connection between the elves magic and their serving of a family. This caused the two elves to feel that she was great witch, along with Harry and Ron being great wizards, since she treated them like equals. Mrs. Weasley wasn't wild about having a couple of new helpers, since she was really used to caring for a lot of people. She was also unsure about house elves because of her experience with Kreacher. Professor Dumbledore simply smiled and then made his exit, telling them that they should be getting their Hogwarts letters and book lists soon.

……………………………………..

Extra notes.

The names that I came up with in this chapter I chose from a website that I found entailing names from different nationalities. I chose them based on what was written about them and their meaning.

Ailbert – Scottish for Noble.

Moireach – Scottish for Lady.

Gordain – Scottish for Hero.

Kerr – Scottish for Man of Strength.

Annabel – Scottish for Beautiful Grace.

Colina – Scottish for Victory of the People.

Macnicol – Scottish for Son of the Conquering People.

Macnicol was actually a first name but I chose to use it as a last name because I felt it sounded like a good Scottish last name.

Thanks for reading, please review.


	8. Time of Discovery

Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter posted. I had a lot of writers block moments getting lost in my thoughts of what is going to happen in the future.

Thanks again to my editors, my wife and mom.

Once again, I own nothing but the new characters I introduce and the plot.

Ying and Yang Twins: Thanks for the review.

Chapter 8 – Time of Discovery 

Harry decided that it was time to show his new properties to the rest of the Weasleys. Once breakfast was over, the entire group gathered together around Harry and his book, and portkeyed to Black Castle. Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Mr., and Mrs. Weasley stared in awe at the grandness of the castle. It was a truly magnificent sight. Harry introduced Dobby and Winky to Ailbert and Moireach and proceeded to give them a tour of the castle. As he showed them around, he began to explain what he wanted the elves to do to clean up the castle. While Harry was busy with the elves, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny began to show the other adults what they had been able to find. Bill set off on his own to check the wards and enchantments to make sure all was safe.

After several hours, the group gathered back together in the main entrance hall and returned to Grimmauld Place. Bill told Harry that the enchantments were definitely still in effect and as strong as ever. Harry explained that since the people who know how to apparate had now been to the castle that they could now apparate there instead of waiting for Harry to bring them. Dobby had stayed at the castle to begin the various cleaning and repair work that Harry had requested. Winky had come back to headquarters to help with the continuing cleanup and care of the house. The first order of business was to try to remove the portrait of Sirius' mum and the Black family tree tapestry. Harry figured that maybe a house elf's magic would be able to get them down.

They stood looking at the curtains, hiding the old bat, for a moment dreading the din that would rise when they opened them. They steeled themselves for the onslaught then opened them up. The usual shouting began and Winky went about trying to remove the portrait. She seemed to try several times before gaining a downhearted look.

They closed the curtains again, "Winky can't do it." Winky looked extremely sad as she spoke. "Winky is not powerful enough Harry."

"Winky, do you think that you and Dobby could do it together?"

Winky thought for a moment, "Winky believes it is possible, Harry."

"Dobby!" Harry shouted. Dobby appeared with a POP, looking at Harry expectantly. "Dobby, I need you to help Winky remove the portrait behind these curtains. Do you think that you can?"

"Dobby and Winky will try their best, Harry," was Dobby's response.

Once again, the curtains were opened and the noise began. The elves made a very valiant attempt but were once again unsuccessful. The curtains were closed again while they continued to ponder the dilemma. Dobby finally had an idea.

"Dobby thinks that Harry has to order Dobby and Winky to do it before it will work. Dobby thinks that the portrait is being held up by house elf magic and can only come down by the master of the house ordering the house elves to remove it."

Harry thought about it for a moment before nodding in acceptance of this task. Once again, they pulled back the curtains to hear the loud insults being thrown at them. Harry quickly shouted, "I HARRY POTTER, MASTER OF THIS HOUSE AND HEIR TO THIS ESTATE, ORDER YOU TWO HOUSE ELVES TO REMOVE THIS FOUL WOMAN'S PORTRAIT FROM MY HOUSE THIS INSTANT!"

Mrs. Black's shouts ceased the moment he spoke and her face broke into a look of surprise, almost as if she realized that she was about to be finished. Dobby and Winky didn't really have to try very hard after that. With a snap of the elves' fingers, the portrait simply slid off the wall and then crumpled to the floor in a heap. They repeated the performance with the family tree tapestry in the sitting room upstairs, and then Dobby was excused back to the castle to continue with his work there. Both items were then banished to a locked storeroom to be completely dealt with later. Winky then set about the house to do a complete clean up and make over to the house to make it a happier place to be.

Mrs. Weasley headed to the kitchen to begin making lunch They may have two house elves now, but that didn't stop Mrs. Weasley from wanting to do the cooking. Everyone else began to go off on their own until lunch. The main topics of the conversations at lunch were of Harry's castle. After lunch, Harry and his school friends headed off to work on their fighting and mind clearing, while the adults went off to do their own things for the rest of the afternoon.

Dinnertime came and was enjoyable as usual, and was followed by Harry's latest Occlumency lesson. Professor Smith was now fully trying to penetrate Harry's mental defenses, without much success. As the lesson wore on, they began to discuss the art of Legilimency and how useful it is. Harry could see how difficult it would be to learn without having first learned Occlumency. Knowing how to organize and block the mind made it easier to learn how to invade it.

As they were preparing to call it a night, Professor Smith changed the topic to the next night's group practice. "Harry, instead of our normal hand-to–hand combat lessons tomorrow, I would like to start working on your dueling. We could go to one of your castles and begin to see what we can improve in your spell work."

"Thank you, sir. I am really looking forward to it. I look forward to getting whatever help you have to offer. While I think that my friends and I are very good with our spell work, our dueling could use some work."

Professor Smith gave a chuckle and nodded, "That is the impression I have been given by the adults around you as well. I assure you that you will learn very valuable lessons from me in this area." The two then said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

After dinner the next night, the four students and their professor headed to Black Castle for practice. Harry was surprised at the lack of an awed reaction from the professor upon his entrance to the castle. Harry supposed that the professor had probably been informed by one of the other adults and was simply prepared for what he saw. They made their way to the room that Harry had Dobby set up for their practicing.

It was an average-sized room with no furniture save for two benches that had been placed out of the way against one of the walls. Weapon stands flanked each of the benches, and torchlight lent a warm glow to the room. It was a perfect place in which to practice. Since there was not much in the way of furnishings, there was not much to damage in the room.

As they entered, Professor Smith pulled out his wand and began, "Well, let's see what you can all do."

Before the students realized what he meant, the first hex was on its way. They all ducked and rolled off to the side, pulling out their wands as they reached their feet. They had been surprised by the sudden attack, and it took a moment for them to get their bearings. A few more hexes had been thrown in their respective directions from the professor, causing a few shields to be raised and some more creative dodging.

It didn't take long for Harry to get his wits about him. "Spread out," he yelled. "It'll be more difficult for him with more space between us. We need to surround him!"

The professor was obviously quite good at dueling. He was firing off spells with blinding speed, and dodging the few spells the students could throw back at him with little effort. There were a few more minutes of continuous fire before Ron finally fell to a stunner. Hermione and Ginny were quick to follow, leaving Harry standing alone. Harry only lasted a few more minutes before he succumbed to a stunner himself. The professor revived his students and motioned for them to have a seat on the benches.

"Well, I can see that I have my work cut out for me. You did do moderately well once you figured out what was happening, but I was still able to beat you too quickly. Your reaction times were far too slow, and your movements were also slow and unsure." The professor paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "When in a duel, you have to be sure of your actions. If you hesitate, you lose. In here, that only results in being disarmed or stunned, but in a real duel it would mean capture or death."

Harry and his friends were all silent while they considered their professors words. Professor Smith then continued, "Now, I realize that you weren't expecting for me to start throwing hexes at you as soon as we walked in, but I needed to see where you were to determine where to begin with you. I do have to say that I see some promise in your abilities, so at least it was not a total loss. From now on, you will all be working against each other instead of me. This way I will be able to watch and correct any mistakes and try to help you improve."

The students stood up, paired off, and prepared to begin again. Ron and Harry paired up, leaving Hermione and Ginny to practice against each other. The pairs took turns allowing the others to watch and learn from their mistakes or successes. Ron had felt really embarrassed to be the first one eliminated, so he was feeling a strong need to redeem himself.

Ron and Harry went first. Professor Smith, sensing Ron's desire to acquit himself of his previous performance, gave Ron some private advice about what to do. Seeing this, Harry began to feel apprehensive; he could sense that this entire lesson was going to be about helping his opponent try to beat him. After the few last minute instructions, Professor Smith told them to begin.

"PROTEGO!"

"STUPEFY!"

The spells were shouted simultaneously. Harry figuring that Ron had been told to try to beat him quickly started with a shield, then shot back immediately with a disarming hex.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry shouted. The spell just missing Ron as he had moved just after he fired off his stunner. They began to circle around each other, trading spells for a few more minutes before Harry finally figured out Ron's movement patterns, and instead of firing his stunner at Ron, he fired it where he felt Ron was going to move. The end result was Ron being stunned for the second time in less than fifteen minutes.

Now it was Ginny and Hermione's turn. The two girls actually fought quite well. The barrage of spells that Hermione shot at Ginny truly showed why she was considered the most intelligent witch of her age. Ginny, though her spells weren't as advanced as Hermione's, made up for her lack of knowledge by her sheer voracity, mobility, and speed. After several tense minutes of fighting, Ginny's speed simply proved to be too much. She sent four stunners in quick succession followed by a very short pause, to fool Hermione into thinking it safe to attack. Just as Hermione was about to fire off a stunner of her own, Ginny hit her with a disarming hex thus taking her wand.

After the girls were finished and all four students were sitting on the benches, the professor began to explain what was good and not so good. "OK, that was better. There is still room for improvement, but that was better. A few things that I see in common are simple lack of experience mistakes. There is still hesitation on everyone's part at times. You need to learn not to hesitate. Also, as Hermione learned first hand, knowledge can be beaten by speed. It doesn't matter how powerful or complex the spell is if your opponent can cast his spells faster. The key is to learn to cast those same spells faster, or better yet learn spells that do an equivalent amount of damage but can be cast faster."

There was a pause before Professor Smith continued, "Harry, I was impressed with the way you adapted to Ron's fighting style. I assume that you figured out that I told him to stay on the offensive by continuing to fire and move. Ron, do you see how you were beaten? Harry figured out your pattern of movements and fired where he knew you would be instead of where you were. You must remember not to be predictable in your movements. If you fall into a pattern, your opponent could easily figure it out and then you would be finished."

They spent the next couple of hours taking turns dueling and watching with observations and criticisms between each duel. Professor Smith was impressed with their improvement over the course of the session. As they were preparing to head home, the professor suggested that they research some more spells to start trying for their next session. When they finally returned to Grimmauld Place for bed, they were thoroughly exhausted and it didn't take long for any of them to fall asleep.

The next week flew by. The four students' days had become full of one kind of practice or another. They began spending much less time at Grimmauld Place and more at the castle where they could continue working on their spell casting. They would wake up each morning and eat a quick breakfast, before heading over to the castle to begin their various workouts. They would start with some stretching and calisthenics, then put in a short run around the grounds to start building their endurance. They would then work on hand-to-hand combat for a couple hours, since they had learned that if you practiced it while tired the movements would become instinctual. Dobby would eventually bring them a light lunch, after which they would work on clearing and organizing their minds. They would also spend a couple of hours looking through various books in the library trying to research new spells. Then they would practice some more dueling until it was time to head back to Grimmauld Place for dinner. After dinner came the lessons with Professor Smith, who had decided that it was time to start alternating days between dueling and Occlumency/Legilimency.

The end result of the week was that they were all learning quite quickly. Their mind organizing exercises were helping them learn at what seemed like an accelerated rate. They were learning new spells and learning from their mistakes very quickly. It was very rare that they made the same mistake more than once, because if they did their professor would never let them hear the end of it. The one thing that everyone agreed upon, without a doubt, was that Harry was progressing much faster than the rest of the group. By the end of the Thursday session, Harry was forced to duel all three of his friends at the same time. The result was a half hour-long battle in which Ginny and Harry ended up hexing each other at the same time to end it. Ginny learned just how powerful Harry's stunners were becoming, while Harry got to feel just how bad Ginny's patented Bat-Bogey Hex felt.

On Saturday morning, Harry and company arrived in the kitchen for breakfast to find Professor Dumbledore seated at the table in the midst of a conversation with Remus, Tonks, and the eldest Weasleys. The teens joined the adults at the table and began to eat. The conversation was relaxed and friendly.

As Harry was finishing up his breakfast, he finally turned to the Headmaster and asked, "Sir, why are you here today? You don't usually just stop by to visit, so what's up?"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled slightly, "You are becoming quite observant Harry, and you are, of course, correct. This is not just a social visit; I thought that you all would like to receive your Hogwarts letters." As he said this, he produced four letters from inside his robes.

All four students took their letter and began to open it. Before Harry even had a chance to pull out his parchment, there was a squeal of delight from Ginny. "I made Prefect!"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley shot out of their seats to go see the letter and badge for themselves. They then proceeded to each give her hugs and congratulations.

"Ginny dear," Mrs. Weasley began, "I'm so proud of you. So what will it be? Would you maybe like an owl, or would you rather get a new broom like your brother, or perhaps some new dress robes?"

It took Ginny a moment to register what her mother was saying, "What?"

Mr. Weasley added, "Well dear, it has become a tradition for your mother and me to get a gift for each of the children who have made prefect. What would you like to have?"

Ginny thought for a moment, "I would really like an owl of my own. Perhaps a snowy owl like Hedwig, I've always thought she was beautiful."

"Well dear, snowy owls are quite rare, but we'll see what we can do. It will have to wait until we go to Diagon Alley next week though."

Hermione came over to give Ginny her congratulations and started giving her advice about being a prefect. Harry made his way over and gave his congratulations as well. Her smile was just so genuine and happily infectious that Harry couldn't help but smile along with her. Combine that smile with her sparkling brown eyes and Harry was finding it difficult not to get lost in the euphoria of the moment. He was quickly becoming lost in those beautiful eyes. He was snapped out of it when he heard an exclamation from behind him.

"Ron," said Hermione, "Ron, what's wrong?" Harry turned around to see Ron staring open mouthed at his letter and something shiny in his hand.

"Ron dear, is everything alright?" There was a hint of worry in Mrs. Weasley's voice.

Ron couldn't seem to find a way to make his voice work. He simply continued to stare open mouthed at the shiny metal object in his hand. He finally seemed to be able to move his hand around to show exactly what it was he was staring at.

"OH, Ron. Congratulations!" Hermione was beaming at him. "You made Quidditch Captain, well done!"

Harry was now speechless, "Quidditch Captain? Hermione's right! Well done, Ron!"

Ron still couldn't help but stare like a fish, "I thought it would be you. I mean, you've been on the team longer."

"Well, it's kind of hard to be captain when you've been banned for life, Ron. Besides, you know way more about the strategy of the game than me, I like to concentrate on just being a seeker."

At this point, Professor Dumbledore cut in, "Harry, I think it would be a good idea if you read your letter."

Harry gave the headmaster a quizzical look before turning to his letter. He read it over and then looked at the headmaster, still wondering what was so special.

The Professor smiled and said, "The second page, Harry."

Harry looked back to his letter and finally noticed that there was a second page. As he read it, his eyes began to grow very wide. "Are you serious? This isn't just a joke, is it?"

"No Harry, it is not a joke. The school governors convinced the Ministry that all of Dolores Umbridge's punishments and Educational Decrees were a bit, um…excessive. It was then decided that they would be revoked, so that means that your ban from quidditch is no longer in effect." As he said this, Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling madly.

All four teens' mouths were hanging open by the end of the professor's speech, the comprehension dawning on all of them at the same time. Harry was back on the team where he belonged. They all began to celebrate, looking forward to the start of the quidditch season already.

Professor Dumbledore stood up and prepared to leave, "Well, now that I have brightened everyone's day, I am afraid I must be going. Oh, and Miss Weasley, since I will be unable to see you tomorrow let me take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Birthday. Good day everyone."

Harry had a questioning look on his face now, 'Ginny's birthday is tomorrow?' he thought. He knew that he wanted to get her something nice, but didn't have the first clue as to what. He didn't even have time to go shopping for something either. He had to have something that he could give to her, something that had some meaning to it. He didn't want to get her something that didn't mean anything to him. He wanted to get her something special, because she was special. She had a way of making him feel better just by being around and he wanted to give her something special to say thank you. He would have to think about it later and see what he could come up with.

Before the teens had a chance to head off to the castle for their daily workouts, Tonks stopped them to ask Harry if she could tag along. She was very interested to have a look at this castle for herself, since she was a Black cousin she thought it would be nice to learn a little about her heritage. Harry agreed and they were all portkeyed off to Black Castle. Once there, Tonks began to visit with Ailbert and Moireach while the teens headed off to practice their hand-to hand combat and dueling.

After lunch, Harry decided that he needed some time alone to see what he could find for Ginny's birthday. He left the others in the library and headed off around the castle to see what he could find. His search took him through all of the bedrooms where he found lots of interesting items, but not anything that screamed "GINNY!" He also made his way through the various common areas and studies, but nothing he found seemed to be right. He finally came back to the main hall where Tonks was still talking with the Blacks.

Harry paused, trying to decide if he should ask Tonks for advice or not. After a few moments, he decided to risk it, "Excuse me Tonks, I hate to interrupt, but I have a problem that I could use some help with."

"What's up Harry?"

"I need some suggestions on what to get Ginny for her birthday. I want to get her something nice, but I just don't know what."

Tonks tactfully withheld any comments about Harry's obvious affection for the young redhead. She could tell that this was important to Harry, so she was determined to try to help. The first thing she needed to know was what Harry really felt for Ginny.

"Okay, Harry," said Tonks. "The first thing I need to know is what exactly are your feelings for Ginny? I need you to be honest with me on this, it's the only way I can really help you. Do you want to get her something as a friend, or are your feelings in that area a little stronger?" Harry immediately started to blush. "Ok, so you like her more than just a friend then. Does she know how you feel about her?" Harry was now the deepest shade of red Tonks had ever seen and all he could do was shake his head no. "I see. Do you want her to know how you really feel about her?"

Harry was finally able to find his voice, "Not yet. Not until I know if she feels the same. I mean, I know she used to, but I don't know if she does any more."

"Would you like me to find out for you?" Tonks asked this knowing that Harry would once again turn that deep shade of red.

"NO!" Harry almost shouted this and shook his head vigorously to emphasize the point. "I will figure it out on my own, thanks."

"Okay, okay, so you want to get a birthday present for a girl you fancy that you want to have meaning, but not give away the fact that you fancy her. Is that about right?" Harry blushed again and nodded. "The first thing you have to do is figure out what she likes. I've noticed that she enjoys quidditch quite a bit. She doesn't seem to be that concerned with her appearance, since she has no qualms about getting dirty. She enjoys having fun and being a part of playing pranks. She seems to enjoy her classes, with the expected exceptions." Harry nodded knowingly, not many students liked classes with Binns and Snape. "Do you know what kind of career she is looking at once she finishes school?"

The smile that had been on Harry's face now faltered, "I don't really know much about what she wants to do. I've known her almost as long as I've known Ron and Hermione, but I don't really know anything about her. I never really paid attention until this summer and I'm really feeling like that was a mistake."

Tonks gave Harry a sad smile and continued, "Harry, I'd say that since you seem be in the beginning stages of these feelings that something small would be appropriate. Something like a nice picture in a frame, or maybe a nice little writing set, or perhaps some nice hair clips to wear when she is playing quidditch. You don't want to get anything really expensive. That could make her feel really uncomfortable; however it would definitely let her know how you feel."

Harry pondered the young Auror for a moment, "Thanks Tonks, you've given me some really good ideas. Now I just need to decide on one." Harry was about to walk off when he thought about something else, "This conversation will remain between us, RIGHT?"

Tonks simply smiled, "I won't tell a soul, Harry. In fact I haven't seen you since the four of you went off together."

Harry smiled back, "Thanks." He then left the hall and headed back to one of the studies. Once inside he closed the door and called for Dobby. The elf popped into the room with a loud POP and asked what he could do for his new master.

"Dobby, I need to get a birthday present for Ginny. Her birthday is tomorrow and I just found out about it this morning. I need to know if you have seen anything in any of the rooms of this castle like a small picture frame, a writing set, or some hair clips or something like that. Have you seen anything like that while cleaning up?"

Dobby thought for a moment, "Yes Harry, Dobby has come across lots of stuff like that."

"You have? Could you bring it to me here? I want to see if I can find something to give her, before the others figure out what I am doing."

Dobby became really excited, "Of course Harry, Dobby will be right back." Dobby was gone with another POP. A few moments passed before Dobby POPPED back in with an assortment of items for Harry to look at. There were several picture frames that had intricate designs engraved in frames of various materials. There were some made of various woods like oak, maple, holly, willow, and ash. There were also several frames of different metals like silver, gold, and platinum.

Also among the items were several writing sets that were quite exquisite. They all consisted of a glass inkwell charmed to never empty, a very fancy looking quill, and a board with holes to hold each item. The quills varied in species of bird from normal birds like eagles and hawks to magical birds like owls and even a phoenix. The wood the boards were made of ranged along the same types as the picture frames.

The last set of items were the ones that really caught Harry's eye. There were many different types of hair restraints from simple colored bands to extravagant precious metal combs. As he looked over these items, Harry's eyes were attracted to a particular set of combs that were gold with what looked like several small rubies set in the backbone of each. Harry looked at these and could immediately envision them in Ginny's flaming red hair. The gold of the combs and the red of her hair combined would make her the epitome of a Gryffindor.

Harry reached for the combs, and as he picked them up, he felt a strange sensation in his hands. He could tell that there was some kind of magical energy coming from these. He decided that Ailbert and Moireach would probably have some insight into what was so special about these. He headed to the main hall to ask the portrait of the Blacks about them. Moireach informed Harry that the magic he could feel was a powerful enchantment so that the clips would never fall out of the hair they were placed in. It was also a powerful charm that would not let anyone but the owner touch them. That thought concerned Harry until he was informed that as the owner he could choose to give them to another, thus making the recipient the new owner. Harry smiled widely; he had found his perfect gift for what he felt was his perfect girl.

Harry thanked the Blacks and returned to the study to Dobby. He told Dobby to put everything back where he found it and go back to cleaning the castle. Once Dobby left, Harry called for Winky. When Winky appeared, Harry handed her the hair comb set and told her to take them back to Grimmauld Place, wrap them in some really nice paper, and place the wrapped package in his trunk making sure to tell no one. She happily complied with the request. Feeling much better about the next day, Harry made his way back to the library and his friends to continue with their daily activities.


	9. Birthdays and Beatings

Once again, I own nothing of this except the plot and some of the characters.

Oomahey – Thank you for the very flattering review. I keep being told by my friends and family, but I still have a hard time believing that my writing is that good. It's good to hear reviews like yours. Thank you.

Oreo-darcy – Thanks for reading and I'm glad you like it. I realize that I have made it seem that Harry is over his guilt, but the way I see it is he has filled his time up so much with his studies that he doesn't really have time to think about it. However whenever he has been faced with something that reminds him of Sirius, he does feel guilty once again. I figure that he also feels better after his closure from his talks with Sirius and Remus.

Chapter 9 - Birthdays and Beatings 

After dinner that evening, Professor Smith and the students made their way back to the castle for dueling practice. After about a half an hour, as Harry was disarming Hermione, the students became aware that they had some company. They all stopped to see Remus, Tonks, Bill, and Charlie had joined them in the room. Harry was about to ask them why they were there when Professor Smith began to explain.

"Ah, I see you have noticed our guests," the professor said to the teens. "I have decided to change the partners with which you are dueling. You are all getting much better, but I can't tell if that is because you are really improving or if you just know each other too well. So I figured if I increased the level of your opponents that I would be able to tell more easily how your skills are improving." The new arrivals were already grinning, seeming to be looking forward to what was about to happen. "Now, it doesn't really matter to me who is dueling who except for Harry. I believe that Harry needs to be tested by the most highly trained amongst the challengers. As an Auror, I believe that Tonks should fill that role quite adequately." Harry showed no outward emotion at this proclamation, but merely nodded in acceptance of the situation. Tonks on the other hand, was grinning madly. She seemed to be quite excited at the opportunity to show off her dueling ability.

A mischievously smiling Bill now spoke, "Well Ron, it looks like I finally get a chance to get back at you for all of the times you beat me at chess." This caused Ron to visibly pale, he could tell Bill was not going to go lightly on him.

Charlie was next to speak up, "As much as I hate to admit it, I have seen Ginny at her worst and have no desire to be on the receiving end of her Bat-Bogey hex so I think I'm going to have to take on Hermione. Sorry, Remus I guess that leaves you with our sister." Ginny was now giving her brother a mischievous yet playful scowl. Remus however was no longer smiling, he seemed a little discouraged by the fact that his opponent seemed to be feared by someone who was, in Remus' opinion, an accomplished dueler.

"Now that that is settled," Professor Smith continued, "who wants to go first?"

Bill stepped forward still grinning, "I think it would be best to let Ron get this over with first instead of making him worry about it." Having heard that, Ron nodded and moved out to the middle of the floor and took his position. His look of worry had been replaced by a look of acceptance then one of determination. Their duel was fast paced and quite good. It took a full twenty minutes for Bill to finally overpower Ron and disarm him. Everyone had very excited looks on their faces, impressed with Ron's ability to hold off Bill, who was a very accomplished dueler, for that long.

As Charlie and Hermione took the floor, Charlie was beginning to wonder what he'd gotten himself into. From conversations he'd had with Professor Smith, he'd assumed that Ron was the one with the least ability. If Ron's skill was the weakest, he could see that he was in for it with Hermione. They assumed their positions and began. This match was just as long as the previous one, but that was where the similarity ended. While Ron had dueled using the power of his spells, Hermione was using her knowledge to its fullest. Charlie was hard pressed to deal with the array of spells she threw at him. In the end, though, he had her wand, but everyone was impressed with Hermione's performance overall.

Now it was Remus and Ginny's turn. Ginny took her spot with a Cheshire cat type of a grin on her face. Remus was looking more serious than anyone had ever seen him as he took his place. All of the adults knew, from Professor Smith, that she was the fastest of the bunch and ruthless in her attack. Remus was the victor after a full half an hour duel, leaving them both quite tired. The teens simply smiled at Ginny, having gotten used to seeing her duel, while the adults showed a very visible amount of appreciation at her ability. Professor Smith hadn't been kidding when he said that these kids were good.

It was now time for Harry and Tonks to take their spots. When Tonks looked at Harry, the smile she wore earlier was quickly removed from her face. What she saw truly chilled her to the bone. Instead of the normal playful smile and cheerful eyes, there was a cold indifferent mask of determination on Harry's face. She could almost feel the power radiating from him like a blast furnace in a foundry. This look and feeling was not lost on the rest of the adults either. Everyone in the room could sense the power that Harry was exuding. All thoughts of taking it easy on Harry were immediately removed from Tonks' thoughts. She could tell she was in for one of the toughest duels in her life.

They bowed to each other and took their positions. Harry wasted no time going on the offensive, having gotten used to dealing with multiple opponents at once he was used to trying to take one out quickly. Tonks spent the first ten minutes in a purely defensive posture by dodging and shielding. She had quickly gone from training mode to survival mode in her mind. This, to her, was no longer a simple training duel. It was now a matter of trying to survive. The next fifty minutes were spent in a very evenly matched duel. Harry seemed to have the best qualities of the three other teens combined into one package. He was powerful, more so than Ron. The amount of spells he was able to send at Tonks was almost as impressive as Hermione's was. While he was not quite as fast as Ginny was, he was firing off spells so fast he was but a blur to watch. In the end, all of the adults were left gaping at the two duelers. The duel had lasted an hour and no one would have guessed that one participant had been underage and not a fully trained Auror. The largest shock had been that in the end it had been Harry standing holding both his and Tonks' wand while she lay stunned on the floor.

"Blimey, you weren't kidding when you told us he was good, Professor Smith." Charlie said this as Bill made his way to Tonks to revive the Auror.

Remus' look of amazement was slowly changing to a look of admiration. "Harry, I can honestly say that you would make your parents very proud. I have no doubt that you can hold your own against most any adult wizard. In fact you reminded me quite a bit of your father just then, he was also an exceptional dueler." Harry's look of indifference was being quickly replaced by a very large smile. The knowledge that he was a lot like his father in more than just looks made his heart soar.

"Yes, I can see that having him continue to practice against his fellow students will not be enough for him. Although it is helpful to the rest of them, it doesn't challenge him enough." Professor Smith was smiling as he said this, very proud of his students. "Harry, I must admit that you and your friends are getting quite good. I would also say that you seem to have found a few more spells on your own. I take it your new library has been helping in that regard?"

"Yes professor," answered Hermione. "We have found lots of interesting spells in the books in the library here."

The professor nodded, "Your endurance is getting better as well. Keep working out everyday and it will only improve." Professor Smith now looked at Harry, "Harry, I believe that it would be a good idea for you to bring some other members of the Order here so that we can include them in your training. I believe that Aurors Moody and Shacklebolt would be good partners for you to continue to learn from. I believe that Professor Flitwick would also be a good partner to practice against since he was a champion dueler. Although I don't think you are quite ready for Professor Dumbledore or Voldemort, I do think that you could give most if not all of the Death Eaters a very difficult time."

Harry was now glowing with pride, "Thank you, sir. I'll bring them here the next chance I get."

Professor Smith nodded and continued, "Now, does anyone want another go?"

Ron spoke up, "Yes sir, I'd like another chance at Bill."

Bill nodded and the brothers took their places again. The duel lasted longer this time but Bill still won. Hermione and Ginny wanted another chance as well, also showing some improvement. Every one was showing definite signs of exhaustion by the end of the session as they all headed back to headquarters. Tonks had never stopped glaring at Harry, it hurt her pride to have been beaten by a kid, and she knew that Remus, Bill, and Charlie would make sure that her loss was made known to the rest of the Order. It was going to be miserable for her for a while. She was quite sure that not many of the Order members would let her live this down.

Harry woke up the next morning full of excitement for the new day. He didn't waste any time getting up and ready. He decided that he would just pretend that he hadn't gotten anything for Ginny for her birthday so it would be a complete surprise. Ron was beginning to get up as Harry was finishing getting dressed, so Harry told Ron that he was going to head down to breakfast without him. Upon entering the kitchen, Harry was met by a bubbling Mrs. Weasley and a still sulking Tonks.

"Good morning, Harry dear," said Mrs. Weasley, "You're looking very chipper this morning."

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley. Good morning, Tonks. Please tell me you're not still sore about last night. I'm sure that I just got lucky." Mrs. Weasley tried to hide a small chuckle while Tonks just continued to glower.

Soon Hermione and Ginny had joined them, and Mrs. Weasley greeted them as well, hugging her daughter as she smiled and said, "Happy Birthday, Ginny, dear."

"Good morning mum, thanks," responded a very bouncy Ginny.

"Yes, Ginny," said Harry with a smile. "Happy Birthday! You seem to be happier than usual. Is this just because it's your birthday?"

"Of course it is. I'm always extra happy on my birthday, because it's my special day."

"Oh, well until this year, I never really got treated special on my birthday. I didn't know that was supposed to be the case." Harry saw the smile on Ginny's face falter for a moment, "But since I had a really wonderful birthday this year, I understand what you mean, and I'm happy for you. Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day."

Ginny just started smiling again, "You're always welcome to be a part of my birthday, Harry. After all you are part of the family now; it just wouldn't be right without you."

Ron chose this moment to enter the kitchen, followed by Bill and Charlie. They all exchanged their good mornings and wishes for a Happy Birthday, then sat down to eat. Once the food was eaten and the plates cleaned, the four students headed off to the castle to start their daily routine.

When they returned for dinner, they found the kitchen decked out for a birthday celebration. Once again, all of the Weasleys were there, except Percy. Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Professor Smith were there as well. The table was covered with piles of mouth-watering food, and there was a large banner overhead that read "Happy Birthday to the Newest Gryffindor Prefect". The evening went much the same as for Harry's birthday. Ginny's cake was also decorated in Gryffindor colors but with a shiny prefect badge for the main decoration.

Once desert was finished and the table cleared, it was time to open gifts. Hermione and the adults who were not named Weasley all got Ginny books covering various topics from muggles to defense. Fred and George gave her a box of samples from their store along with a note telling her to try them out at school and report back with their success. Ron got her a selection of her favorite sweets. Bill and Charlie went together to get her a new set of pads for playing quidditch. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave her a new writing set with a pair of beautiful quills and inkwell set in a board of dark mahogany.

Ginny was delighted with everything, but her smile faded slightly as she noticed the sad look on Harry's face. "What's the matter, Harry?"

Harry continued to look sad. "I think I owe you an apology, Ginny." She gave him with a questioning look. "I've known you for four years now and it wasn't until yesterday, when Professor Dumbledore mentioned your birthday, that I knew when your birthday was. I haven't been a very good friend to you. Even though you have been there for me when I really needed it, I have never taken the time to get to know anything about you. For that, I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Harry. We aren't in the same year and don't have any classes together, so there hasn't really been that many opportunities to get to know each other."

Harry gave a half-hearted smile, "No, it's not all right. We may not be in the same year and have classes together, but that hasn't stopped you from getting to know anything you wanted to about me. I've been made an honorary member of your family, and I realized that I don't know that much about any of your family, besides Ron. That is something that I plan to change." Harry began to smile, and continued, "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go shopping for your birthday, but then I remembered that I have a couple of castles full of interesting items at my disposal."

Harry was smiling a huge smile now. "Winky!" Winky appeared with a loud POP. "You called for Winky, Harry?"

"Yes, Winky. Would you please bring Ginny her gift?"

Winky bowed, "Of course, Harry!" She then POPPED out and back with a beautifully wrapped gift, handing it to Ginny.

Ginny opened the gift and her eyes went wide as saucers, "Oh, Harry, these combs are beautiful!"

"I found them at the castle yesterday. According to Moireach, they are enchanted to never fall out. I thought they would be good for holding your hair out of your eyes while playing quidditch. I also figured that the colors are perfect for a member of Gryffindor."

Ginny was stunned, "Harry, I really love them, but it's too much. I couldn't possibly accept this."

"Of course you can. I have more stuff than I could ever hope to make use of. If I am now a part of this family, then who better to share my good fortune with? I have more than enough for myself. Please let me share it with you and your family." Harry paused to make sure she was paying close attention. "Besides, there's one more enchantment on those that I forgot to mention. No one, except the owner, can touch those combs. Since I have given them to you as a gift, you are now the owner, so I could not possibly take them back. Looks like you will just have to accept my gift. Happy birthday, Ginny."

Everyone in the room was taken aback. They had all heard about Harry's generosity and selflessness before but had never been witness to it. Ginny hugged him and said thanks again, while the rest of the group just gapped at this new information. 'Just wait until they see how much money I have access to once Sirius' name gets cleared,' Harry thought. 'They think I'm being generous now….' Harry could only smile to himself. He knew this was just the beginning. After all, he had sixteen years worth of birthdays and Christmas to make up for.

The rest of the evening and the next few days went along as usual. Since Moody and Kingsley were both at the party, Harry had brought them to the castle so they would be able to help the students train in the future. Harry's mental defenses had become quite strong and he was beginning to get the hang of legilimency. He couldn't penetrate the mind of a skilled occlumens, but he could start breaking into his friends minds, with their OK of course.

There was another Order meeting on the following Thursday. There wasn't much new information, but it was decided that Saturday would be the day everyone went to Diagon Alley. Since the Hogwarts letters had all been sent out, this weekend the alley would be very busy and their presence could be hidden a bit better amongst the crowd. There would also be a large Auror presence to try to lessen the chance of a Death Eater attack. Professor Snape had made it clear that Voldemort had given his Death Eaters one standing order above all else. If they were to come across Harry Potter, they were to do anything necessary to capture him regardless of their mission. Harry was now more of a marked man than ever. They had decided that all of the students would be disguised in some way and not move around together so as to blend in. The students didn't like it but understood the reason behind it.

Saturday morning arrived, and the house was buzzing with anticipation. Many members of the Order were present in the house, and even more were stationed in Diagon Alley. The only Order members who would not be present, in the alley, today were the teachers. It was felt that their presence in the alley would be a dead give away about the plans for the day. They would be waiting at headquarters for any word of trouble so they could be summoned quickly if need be. Kingsley and Tonks, being active Aurors, were among those stationed in the alley. Each student would have an escort of two Order members. Ron and Ginny would be with their parents and would be being followed by Sturgis Podmore and Emmaline Vance. Hermione would be followed by Elphias Doge and Hestia Jones. Harry was going to be protected by Dedalus Diggle, and Remus. Moody, hiding under his invisibility cloak, would also be protecting Harry. Mundungus Fletcher would also be hiding in the alley keeping an eye on Harry, and above it all would be Fawkes, the headmaster's phoenix, ready to flash back to headquarters if necessary to summon help.

The groups traveled by portkey, leaving at short intervals, to try to draw less attention. Hermione's group would go first, followed ten minutes later by the Weasleys, and ten minutes later by Harry's group. They each portkeyed into the back room of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes where they were met by one of the twins. The twins were both unusually serious today, owing to the fact that this was a very dangerous situation.

Harry's group made its way out of the store and headed over to Gringotts so Harry could stock up on money for the year. The security at the goblin bank was tighter than Harry had ever seen it. The goblins were apparently worried about a possible attack as well as the Order and Ministry. After Gringotts, they moved on to Madam Malkin's to get Harry some new robes. He had grown a fair amount since last summer and his old ones were just getting too small. Next up was Eeylops Owl Emporium, to stock up on owl treats and other stuff for Hedwig. The group made their way passed Quality Quidditch Supplies, Magical Menagerie, and Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor on their way to the apothecary to restock Harry's potions supplies. The last stop was Flourish and Blotts for books. Harry had to get books for Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures.

Harry's group must have made pretty good time on their shopping, because all three groups ran into each other on the way back to the twins' shop. The students laughed about the situation, while the adults all shook their heads. They continued on toward the shop when chaos erupted all around them. There was a sudden series of POPS echoing around the alley as the Aurors all started disappearing. Tonks came running up to the group simply saying, "Attack at the Ministry!" before taking up a defensive stance with the rest of the protectors. By this time, everyone had their wands out, ready for whatever was to happen next as they continued to move through the alley.

They were only a few doors away from the twins' shop when it started to get unseasonably cold and dark. "DEMENTORS IN THE ALLEY," came a yell from behind them. Now there were people running in every direction screaming. Parents were drawing their wands, grabbing their crying children in fear, and running blindly through the street. The group was now in full survival mode. The adults were trying to get the students to the portkey point while the students began to try to stay and help.

"We need to hurry to the shop to get out of here," urged Tonks.

"NO," yelled Harry. "We need to stay and help all of these people! The Aurors have all left for the Ministry and the people here need all of the help they can get!"

Mrs. Weasley broke in, "You kids need to get back to the safety of headquarters. Leave this to the adults. We need people who can produce a patronus and besides you are not old enough to use magic outside of school."

Harry was starting to get really angry, "Well then I guess it's a good thing that we all CAN produce a corporeal patronus isn't it. Besides the fact that it IS okay to use magic outside of school when it's a matter of self-defense. We have all been practicing this on our own and, believe it or not, have gotten very good at it."

There was no more time for argument, as a wall of dementors came gliding into view. All argument stopped as everyone turned in unison and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A dozen bright silver shapes burst out of the wands of the gathered witches and wizards, none of them as bright as Harry's stag.

The dementors began to scatter as the silver patroni came in contact with them, prongs in the lead. The argument from before was now gone, there was no way anyone was leaving before this was over. The students began to direct their patroni around the Alley chasing any dementor that was unfortunate enough to cross their path. They were made aware that dementors were not the only dark thing in the alley as a red stunning spell flew past them. There were Death-Eaters in the alley as well. They could be seen pouring out of Knockturn Alley. Soon the dementors were all gone and Diagon Alley had been turned into an all out war zone. Black robed, white masked Death-Eaters were in full battle with every able bodied adult in the Alley.

The Death-Eaters had the advantage of surprise and slightly more numbers, but the defenders of the alley were able to hide behind fallen objects, thus giving them the advantage of cover. The students were fighting alongside the adults, matching the enemy spell for spell. Flashes of light were flying all over the alley making it look like the Fourth of July in New York harbor. Wizards and witches were falling all over the alley. The defenders were only stunning, while the Death-Eaters were using the killing curse with reckless abandon.

Suddenly, there was an unusual unrest among the Death-Eaters. They were beginning to scramble themselves, and began disapparating left and right. The stunned ones were portkeyed away by the still fighting ones before they could be captured. As the dust of the destroyed parts of buildings began to settle, it became clear why the Death-Eaters were in such a hurry to leave. The rest of the Order of the Phoenix, led by Professor Dumbledore, was coming from the other end of the alley. The defending group made their way over to the reinforcements, glad they had shown up when they did.

Remus, the Weasleys, and the students joined the headmaster and Professor Smith in the middle of the street, while the rest of the Order began to assist the injured and begin helping clean up. The two professors beamed at their students, it was obvious that they knew what had transpired and were quite proud at their abilities. Professor Dumbledore spoke, "It is good to see you are all safe. Yes, I am disappointed that you did not go back to headquarters where you could be safe, but I am proud of how well all of you performed today."

Harry was about to respond when something in the air above the headmaster's shoulder caught his eye. He quickly raised his wand, causing everyone else to whip around and do the same. As whatever it was got closer the wands began to come down and a frown began to form on the headmaster's face. There were four owls flying directly toward them, each carrying a letter. Harry was now starting to frown as well. He had a feeling that he knew what these owls were doing, and if that was the case, he was going to go absolutely ballistic. His anger became more complete as the four owls each dropped an envelope bearing the seal of the Ministry of Magic in front of one of the four students. Harry's anger could be felt by everyone present as he picked up his letter and began to read it.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DOES THAT POMPUS GIT THINK HE'S DOING?" Everyone in the alley stared in awe at Harry's outburst. "WE ARE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC TO DEFEND OURSELVES! IT'S NOT LIKE HE HAS DONE ANYTHING TO PROTECT ANYONE, EXCEPT MAYBE HIMSELF! WHY DO WE HAVE SUCH A WORTHLESS PILE OF DUNG AS A MINISTER OF MAGIC? HONESTLY, SENDING LETTERS OF DISCIPLANARY ACTION TO US FOR DEFENDING OURSELVES!"

By the end of Harry's rant, the other three students had finished reading their letters as well. Hermione and Ron were both visibly worried, while Ginny's attitude seemed to match Harry's. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley began to try to pacify and comfort their children and Hermione, while Remus tried to calm down Harry. Professor Dumbledore simply took all of the letters and read them quickly to see exactly what they said, so he could develop a plan to deal with this new problem. As he read the letters, all the headmaster could do was shake his head. This was not a good time for the minister to be trying to exert his authority in this manner. The next fifteen minutes were spent getting the students calmed down enough to start heading them back to headquarters. They had almost made it back to the twins' shop, when one of the only things that could have made this situation even worse happened.


	10. Times of Change

Once again, I own nothing, and I am making no money off of this. It is all in good fun.

Tanndwr – Thanks for the review.

Inken – Thanks for the review. In regards to Prof. Smith, I am afraid that I have to give you the same response that I give my family and friends who ask about him. All will be revealed in time. If I gave any more information, I would be exposing too much about later in the story. Sorry. I will however say that there is more to my mysterious professor than meets the eye.

Chapter 10 – Times of Change 

There in the middle of Diagon Alley, surrounded by several Aurors, stood the object of Harry Potter's present rage, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. The minister stared in awe at the amount of damage done to the alley. Many of the walls had holes blown in them of various sizes from the spells that had not managed to hit people. There was a lot of rubble on the ground from the various things that had been destroyed. The most heartbreaking had been the number of bodies that lay on the ground, lifeless. The battle may not have lasted very long, but the Death-Eaters had accomplished their goal. They had disrupted the everyday life of the wizarding world and struck fear in the hearts of many. They had made it very clear that Voldemort's second war had begun.

Before any of the others knew what was happening, Harry began to storm over to the minister, grabbing his letter from the headmaster as he passed. "YOU! YOU JUST HAD TO BE RIGHT! DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU!"

Fudge looked taken aback, "What are you talking about?"

"YOU SPENT AN ENTIRE YEAR TELLING THE ENTIRE WIZARDING WORLD THAT PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE AND I WERE DELUSIONAL AND MAKING UP STORIES! YOU DIDN'T ONCE DO ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED VOLDEMORT FROM REGAINING HIS ARMY AND HIS POWER! YOU IGNORED HIM AND ALLOWED HIM TO GET HIMSELF TOGETHER! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? LOOK WHAT YOUR POMPOUS STUPIDITY HAS LED TO!"

Harry was seething with anger, his fists balled up so tight that his knuckles were bright white. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and continued in a quiet but stern voice, "Look around you, Minister. These people were not as prepared as they could have been. If they had known over a year ago, when we told you Voldemort was back, they would have been prepared. If you had just believed in us, he may never have been able to get organized this quickly." Harry paused to look mournfully around him, and then turned back to the minister. "This…all this…could have been prevented."

Harry was staring coldly at the minister now, only separated by two of the minister's guards. He then remembered the letter in his hand, "Oh, and if you think that I won't fight this latest letter from YOUR ministry, then you're very mistaken. My friends and I used magic, here, to protect ourselves and anyone else that was in harms way. Since YOUR Aurors could not manage to stay here and do their job, WE did it for them."

Fudge was dumbstruck, trying to understand why this anger was directed at him while his guards just seemed to fidget in place. None of them liked being on the receiving end of this anger. Once Harry had stopped yelling, the anger he had could be felt by every one of them. They may be fully trained, experienced, adult wizards, but this kid made them feel downright intimidated. In fact, when you combined the anger they could feel with the calmness of his voice and the coldness of his gaze, they found they were actually a little scared of this young man.

"What exactly happened here?" Fudge was sputtering, "Dumbledore, what do you know about any of this?"

"Well, it would seem that the attack on the ministry was a diversion to draw the Aurors that you placed in the alley away so that they could attack the unsuspecting public. I was not here when it started, but I did come as soon as I had been made aware that there was an attack." The headmaster was trying to keep a calm manner to settle the tension in the air, but anyone who knew him could tell that he was just as angry as Harry.

"You see Minister, just after the Aurors left; the alley was attacked by dementors and Death-Eaters. Not everyone was fortunate enough to come out of this attack unscathed. Many of these people were kissed by dementors before the many patroni that were conjured could force them to leave. Once the dementors were gone there were still a large number of Death-Eaters here, fighting ruthlessly and with only one goal in mind, death and destruction. Everyone in this alley was fighting for their lives from this threat. I expect the charges against my students to be dropped, since they really broke no laws."

Fudge was sputtering worse than before, "There was an attack on the ministry, and we had to protect the government. I'm sorry about what happened here but we had to set priorities."

"You mean they had to protect YOU!" Harry couldn't control his anger, "All you have cared about for the last year is yourself, and how you could stay in office! You don't really care about what happens to anyone else as long as you can continue playing minister! You tried to make Professor Dumbledore look like an old fool and me look like an attention-seeking prat all last year! You leaned on the Daily Prophet to print any story you could to discredit us just so you could keep your job! You are the one who is the pathetic fool! I see you couldn't even bother to show up here without having an armed escort of six Aurors! Why don't you just go back to that cozy little office of yours and enjoy your position while you can, and leave the defending of the wizarding world to us? We seem to be the only ones who can actually protect it!"

"Now see here," Fudge was beginning to get angry himself. "You have no right to speak to me that way. I am the Minister of Magic, and you will show me the respect my title deserves."

"I will show respect to people who have earned it. Just because you have an important title, doesn't mean you have earned anyone's respect. I respect people who can fight for what's right and look out for each other. You can only look out for yourself, and as far as I'm concerned, YOUR Aurors are the ones who do all the fighting for you. In fact, I'd be surprised if you could even protect yourself in an attack. I mean if one man could get away from you, AND two of your officials, AND two of your Aurors, without suffering so much as a scratch, why should I think you could protect yourself."

Fudge was really mad now. He was being openly disrespected by a mere child in the middle of the street. "I'll have you know that I am quite capable of protecting myself…"

"Prove it!" Harry shouted, "Prove it right here, right now! I challenge you, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, to a duel! Right here in the middle of this street, right now!" Shocked looks were on everyone's faces. "Not to the death, but to disarm and incapacitate. First one to disarm and stun the other wins!"

The Minister was beside himself with anger now, "You can not challenge me to a duel, boy. You are under age and besides, you wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"Actually, Minister," Professor Smith was now speaking up, "According to your laws, he can. You have been accused of attacking his honor. It is completely within his rights to challenge you if he wishes."

The Minister was looking at this new person, "Who are you? And what do you mean by saying he has the right to challenge me?"

"My name is Professor Smith. I am the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor at Hogwarts. The wizarding laws of the United Kingdom clearly state that any witch or wizard in this country, who has been subject to an attack of their honor, may challenge their attacker to a duel. The challenger may also set the rules for the duel and the stakes. It is a very old and obscure law, but one that is still on the books nonetheless."

Harry was now very curious, "What do you mean by set the stakes?"

"I mean, you get to decide what the loser has to do."

Harry was smiling now, "So what you're saying is that I could say that if I win, the Minister has to resign? Immediately?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying. You get to set all of the conditions, so long as they are fair."

Fudge was getting extremely red in the face now, "This is preposterous! I do not have to stand here and be insulted like this." He then tried to apparate away, but found he couldn't.

"I'm sorry Minister, but unfortunately this is a binding magical law. Once the challenge has been issued, if it is a valid challenge, it has to be acted upon. You have to either accept the challenge or reject it. However, if you reject it, it will count as a loss of the duel and you will have to carry out the consequences anyway. So you see, the only way that you can keep your office is to accept the challenge and win the duel."

"What? This cannot be true!" The minister was looking around wildly, "Someone summon Madam Bones. Since she is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she should be able to tell us if this is true."

Professor Dumbledore, who had been observing quietly, agreed and conjured a quill and some parchment. After quickly writing a note to Madam Bones, he called for Fawkes and sent the letter with his phoenix to fetch the department head. A few minutes passed and Madam Bones apparated to the alley carrying a very dusty old looking book.

"Professor Dumbledore, I have brought the book with the law in question, if I read your note correctly. Would you like to explain exactly what is going on, please?"

Dumbledore explained the situation to her as she began to flip through the book. After several minutes, she stopped on a page and began to read very carefully. "Well, it seems that this is in fact a valid law. I'm afraid, Minister, that you will have to either accept or reject the challenge and accept the consequences of that action."

The minister was at a loss. "So what will happen when I win? Since there is no possibility that a mere boy will possibly beat me, the Minister of Magic."

Harry thought for a moment, "IF you win, I will give you a written public apology, AND show my full support for your continued holding of the office of Minister of Magic. I will even be willing to take whatever punishment you see fit to give me for my disrespect."

"Even if I choose to send you to Azkaban for threatening the Minister?"

"Yes."

"Deal!" Exclaimed the Minister as he quickly shook Harry's hand to seal the magical contract. "So, when would you like to do this? I am sure that I can make room on my calendar sometime later this week."

"Right here, right now," replied Harry. "After all, that was the original challenge." Harry began to motion people back to make room for the duel.

Professor Dumbledore and the other adults who hadn't seen Harry duel, were looking very worried. They weren't sure if Harry had done the right thing. The people who had seen Harry in action were all smiling, but none more than Ginny and Remus. They knew that this would be no contest.

The rubble was moved out of the street and the people were all moved back to a safe distance. Harry called out, "Professor Dumbledore, could you conjure some protective shields to stop any stray spells from hitting the spectators, please?" He paused, "And I think we should have a referee as well to make sure no one breaks the rules and this is an honest duel. Auror Moody, would you be so kind?"

"Wait a minute, Mr. Potter. Mr. Moody is no longer an Auror, he has retired. I think that someone else should be the referee." The Minister looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on Madam Bones. "Who would you recommend for this task, Madam Bones? I believe that you, as the head of the department would know of someone appropriate for this task."

She immediately started to scan the crowd and saw someone she felt would be okay, "Auror Shacklebolt, you will be an impartial referee to this duel."

Kingsley simply nodded and took his place inside the ring of spectators. Once everyone involved was in place, Professor Dumbledore began to conjure invisible walls around the three men to keep wayward spells from doing any damage. When everything was in place, Kingsley reminded the combatants about the rules.

"This is a duel to disarm and stun only. No illegal spells are allowed and nothing intended to be lethal. This duel will not be considered over until one of you is stunned and disarmed."

Both combatants nodded their agreement and took their stances. The minister was smiling widely; he felt that he would win this duel easily. After all, how could a mere boy defeat a trained adult in a duel?

Harry was now trying to think quickly, '_What was I thinking? I'm sure I can beat him easily, but I don't want the whole wizarding world to know how good I've gotten. I need to keep my abilities hidden from Voldemort. I'll just have to contain my knowledge to fifth year spells and below and slow down a little._' Harry steeled himself for the battle that was about to begin. The cold detached look was back in his eyes, and his resolve was as solid as ever. Then Kingsley spoke, "Begin!"

Harry immediately went on the defensive, casting shield charms and dodging. He wanted to observe Fudge for a few moments to observe what he was up against. Fudge, in the mean time, had begun an all out offensive. He was sending every offensive spell he could think of at Harry. At first, Harry was surprised at how well Fudge could fight, but soon Harry completely understood Fudge's patterns. It had only taken Harry five minutes to fully assess his opponent, and form a plan to defeat him.

A smile began to creep across Harry's face. He knew that he could end this quickly, but he didn't want to just beat this man. No, he wanted to completely embarrass him. After all that Harry had been through over the last year, he wanted the minister to know what it felt like to be completely ridiculed.

Harry began to move from a defensive posture to a more offensive one. He began to send many minor jinxes, like the jelly legs, furnunculus, petrificus totalus, and impedimenta. He wasn't really expecting to beat him with these, just trying to lull him into a false sense of security. He sent the spells quickly and with varying degrees of accuracy. Once he thought the minister was getting confident, he picked up the tempo.

As the speed increased, Fudge's smile began to disappear. He began to realize that he might have underestimated his opponent. Harry continued to push the issue, causing Fudge to become desperate. Fudge could feel this duel slipping away from him, so he did what any desperate fool would do.

"REDUCTO," he shouted, causing Harry to dodge quickly to the side. Then to everybody's dismay he shouted, "CORPUS CONTRICIO!" It was a body crushing curse which was barely legal and borderline lethal. Both spells missed Harry by mere inches. He knew that play time was over. The smile that had been on Harry's face was now replaced by a look of intense coldness that made everyone who saw it shudder in fear.

Harry began sending a string of spells so rapidly that all Fudge could do was try to shield himself. Harry was sending stunners with enough force to push Fudge backward and eventually down to his knees. Fudge was at a loss for what to do. He was getting very tired and his shield was weakening. After ten straight minutes of constant attack, Fudge's shield finally gave out.

"EXPELLIARMUS, ACCIO WAND, STUPEFY!"

The gathered crowd was absolutely silent. They all stood staring at the scene before them. Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, was standing with his wand pointed at the unconscious form of Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, while holding the minister's wand in his other hand. The look of cold fury on Harry's face was enough to scare the fiercest warrior. Fudge had intentionally broken the rules and attempted a potentially lethal curse.

Whispers began coming from the crowd as they realized what had just occurred. The whispers were beginning to become shouts and cheers as Professor Dumbledore quickly dropped his protective shielding allowing Harry's friends to rush to his side. Harry was hugged fiercely by several people at the same time, the most noticeable of whom was Mrs. Weasley who had been shaking with fear throughout the duel. Harry's gaze never changed though, he was still furious with Mr. Fudge for breaking the rules.

Kingsley made his way over to Fudge to revive him. Once revived Kingsley began to admonish the man, "Mr. Fudge, explain yourself. The rules specifically stated nothing potentially fatal. What were you thinking when you used a body crushing curse?"

Harry answered for him, "He was thinking that he was about to lose to a mere boy. He would rather have gotten in trouble for breaking the rules than to be embarrassed by losing to a child." Harry paused before continuing, "Mr. Fudge, I expect to see a nice front page story in the Prophet tomorrow morning announcing your resignation. I should press charges against you for breaking the rules of the duel, but I think this humiliation should be enough to teach you a lesson."

Fudge couldn't bring himself to look anywhere except at the ground. He had been beaten by a child; not just beaten, but also embarrassed. He had more experience and training but he realized that he also never had a chance. He knew that Harry had been toying with him and could have beaten him much earlier in the duel. Once he realized that, he got desperate and tried to inflict a dire injury. He had shamed himself and his position. The Minister of Magic was supposed to be above such petty things, but he wasn't able to live up to that.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter." Fudge spoke quite softly, "I'm sorry for not believing you and Dumbledore last summer. I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've caused to you for the last year. You're right. I was trying to deny everything out of fear of losing everything. The way I acted was irresponsible, and unforgivable. You were right, and I should have been more open to listening to you. I'm sorry." And with that, Fudge turned to leave.

Harry had finally began to soften his glare. He hadn't expected an apology, let alone a very public one. He watched the former minister walk slowly away dejected. "Mr. Fudge." He shouted, "I accept your apology. I just wish things had not had to be this way. There may be hope for you yet. Good luck in your future, sir."

Fudge had stopped as Harry had started to address him. Once Harry had finished, Fudge merely turned and gave a slight nod, then turned to leave. It was then that a new arrival stirred the emotions of the crowd.

"Minister Fudge," Dolores Umbridge said, "Good, you're already here." Then she noticed Harry, "Why have you Aurors not seized that young man? He broke the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery."

The assembled crowd was stunned to silence again before Harry retorted, "If there is anyone here who should be getting arrested, it's you." He then turned to Madam Bones, "Madam Bones, Dolores Umbridge is the person who sent the dementors after me last summer."

Umbridge had a look of outrage on her face, while Madam Bones looked at Harry questioningly. "Are you sure about this? This is a serious charge. Do you have any proof?"

"Yes. She admitted it to me in front of eleven other witnesses, although half of them will probably deny it since they were members of her Inquisitorial Squad and children of Death-Eaters." Harry was now glaring at his former defense professor, "In fact, she also tried to use the Veritaserum Potion on me and considered using the Cruciatus Curse on me."

Madam Bones's eyes widened at this information. She turned quickly back to Umbridge only to see her trying to slip away, "Aurors detain her!"

Harry continued, "I have one other question, Madam. Are there any laws pertaining to acceptable punishments of students while at school?"

Madam Bones had returned her gaze to Harry as soon as the Aurors had captured Umbridge, "Yes there are, Mr. Potter. Why do you ask?"

"Is physical torture considered an acceptable punishment for speaking your mind?"

Madam Bones looked quite taken aback, "No, Mr. Potter. No form of torture is considered an acceptable punishment for a student at school. Torture has been outlawed for many years. Why?"

Harry held out the back of his hand for Madam Bones to see, there resided the faint scars of the words_, I will not tell lies_. "Her detentions consisted of writing lines with a quill that wrote in the users own blood while cutting the words into the back of his or her hand."

There was a gasp from all present. Moody spoke up, "She used a blood quill on the students?"

Madam Bones was now gaping in shock, "What were you given detention for?"

Harry, who had continued looking at Umbridge through the entire conversation, turned his gaze back to Madam Bones, "I merely tried to tell people that Voldemort was back." The entire crowd shuddered at his use of the Dark Lord's name. "She claimed that it was a lie and gave me detention for it. As you can see by the scars on my hand, I got detention a lot. I was not the only student that she did this to. I simply got it the most."

The look on Madam Bones' face was now one of outrage, "Madam Umbridge, you are under arrest for the crimes of abusing your position within the ministry. You are accused of torturing students, unlawfully administering a ministry-controlled potion, and unauthorized ordering of an attack by dementors. You will be held in a holding cell until a trial can determine your guilt. Take her away Aurors." She then turned back to Harry, "Mr. Potter, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic I would like to offer my apologies for the way you have been treated by some of our representatives."

"I accept your apology, Madam. I know that not everyone at the Ministry thinks that way. I only hope that the next Minister is a much more open and understanding individual. We need a leader who is not afraid to ruffle some feathers and push for a change for more equality in the wizarding world. We are at war with Voldemort. We need someone who will work to unite the beings of the wizarding world to win. Not just the wizards and witches, but all magical creatures need to be treated as equals. Voldemort rallies beings to his cause by offering them freedoms that the present laws don't allow. It is time to change that if we are to win this war, let alone survive."

By the end of Harry's speech, the crowd was starting to murmur again. People were nodding in agreement and some even began to clap. Soon there was an outbreak of applause for Harry. Most of the people still gathered in the alley were agreeing with what he said. It made sense. They needed to stand united if they had any chance of survival. As the crowd began to get rowdy, Professor Dumbledore began to lead the Order in getting the students out of there as quickly as possible.

Once they were all back at headquarters, Harry had a realization. He slumped down at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. Ginny was the first to notice, "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry just sat there shaking his head for a moment before looking up, "I just forced the Minister of Magic to quit." The look on Harry's face was one of astonishment, "And, I got that toad arrested. MERLIN, THAT FELT GOOD!" The entire room broke out in gales of laughter. Harry simply continued to laugh until he saw the somber expression on the Headmaster's face. "What's wrong Professor?"

The twinkle was nowhere to be seen in the Headmaster's eyes, "Harry, I owe you an apology. I had no idea what she was doing for her detentions. Why didn't you come to me or at least Professor McGonagall about this?"

Harry considered the Headmaster for a moment, "If I would have gone to one of the other members of the staff and you would have tried to intervene, she would have just come up with some other new educational decree and sacked anybody who tried to stop her. I felt that this was a battle between me and her. If I tried to go over her head, she would have won. I wasn't about to give her that satisfaction."

Mrs. Weasley questioned, "Did all of you children know about this?" There was a nod in agreement. "Why didn't one of you speak up to stop this?"

Ron was now standing beside Harry, "We tried to convince him to talk to someone about it, but like he said, this was between him and the toad. It wasn't our place to interfere for him. We did what we could to help him, but in the end it was his fight."

The adults' reactions were mixed; some were upset about the refusal to get help from the staff, while others were admiration for Harry's determination to fight on his own. Professor Dumbledore just continued to shake his head and mutter a last apology before heading back to the school.

A short time later, everything settled down enough to be considered back to normal, and the students began to go over all their different purchases. As it turned out, Ginny did in fact end up getting a snowy owl of her own, which she named Eros after the Greek god of love.

By the time lunch was over, everyone had decided it was best to return to his or her respective routines. The four students had been talking about various charms they had come across during their studying, when Harry remembered about the charms book Remus had given him from his mum. He ran up to his room to dig through his trunk. He found it quickly and was about to close his trunk again, when another book caught his eye. Once he realized what book he was looking at, his mouth formed a huge smile. How could he have forgotten about this book? He picked it up and nodded to himself. Yes, it was time to learn something from his father.

He ran back downstairs to his friends and they immediately portkeyed to the castle. Once in the library, he gathered them all around one desk. "Guys, I think it's time to have some fun." The other three were looking at him wondering what was going through his mind. "When I was looking for the book of charms from my mum, I came across this book as well." He set the book on the table. The others' eyes widened as they read the title, _Secrets of the Marauders_.

Hermione just pointed at the book, "Is that what I think it is?"

Harry smiled, "That is a book about all of the pranks that my dad and his friends played while at school."

"Wicked," exclaimed Ron.

"You know, with the twins gone, I think it might just get a little boring around the school. I think it's time the next generation of marauders made an appearance."

Ginny had a very devious smile, "The twins looked up to those four, even though they didn't know who they were."

Harry's smile was growing wider, "Although I don't think it would be appropriate for us to start calling ourselves the new marauders just yet." There were curious looks from his friends. "I don't think it would be appropriate for us to just take the title…without earning it."

"Harry, what do you mean when you say earn it?" Responded a somewhat confused Hermione.

"Well, the marauders all had nicknames that they earned." The other three were now looking at Harry wide-eyed.

Hermione spoke again, "Are you saying that you want us to become Animagi?"

Harry smiled one of the biggest and most mischievous smiles anyone had ever seen as he pulled out the second book, _Finding the Animal Within_. "My dad and his friends wrote this one too. It explains in detail what they all had to do to become an animagus. I'm game, what about the rest of you?"

Ginny was first to answer, "Do you really need to ask? Of course I'm in."

Ron was even more enthusiastic, "You think I'm nutters enough to even think about passing this up?"

Hermione was somewhat hesitant, "I don't know. This is supposed to be really dangerous, and it's illegal. We could get into a lot of trouble."

"Hermione, we'll only get in trouble if we get caught." Harry was trying to convince the last holdout, "Besides, now is the best time to get started on this. We need to brew a potion to find out what we have the ability to turn into. If we do that here, we are a lot less likely to be caught than if we try it at school. Once we know what we can become, it's all a matter of human transfiguration, which we will start learning about this year anyway."

"Ginny doesn't start learning that until next year."

"So she'll just be ahead of the rest of her year. Come on Hermione. Look, if all of my dad's friends could do it, I'm sure that we can."

Hermione's look became very hopeful, "Do you really think we can do this?"

Harry was smiling again, "Absolutely. I have no doubts. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal," they muttered simultaneously.

Hermione took the book and began to read exactly what needed to be done to achieve this. Once she read all about the potion, they set off to a room set up as a potions lab and began the process of making the potion. It would take a couple of days to brew since there were plenty of spots where the potion had to simply simmer for several hours before doing anything more to it. As they returned to headquarters for dinner, Harry couldn't help but smile. The rest of this summer was definitely going to be interesting.


	11. Things to Ponder

Thanks to all who reviewed: harryp123, MandaEvelyn, Treck, and Hermione Green. To Lourdes1, I greatly appreciate all of your reviews and the insight you shared with me. To Treck, I have been having trouble deciding myself just who I want to be the next Minister. Your points are all valid and I have thought along those same lines myself a lot as well. I probably won't truly decide who it will be until I am actually forced to name the person.

I am sorry for the long wait between updates. The only time I really have to write late at night on my three days off. I have three small children who make it very difficult to concentrate while they are awake. I also had some computer problems, which have now been remedied. So hopefully the next chapter will be ready sooner.

Once again, I own nothing except the plot and any new characters I come up with.

**Chapter 11 – Things to Ponder **

After dinner that evening, Harry went to the castle for his private lesson with Professor Smith. They entered the study they had been using for their training sessions and took their normal seats. When Harry looked at his professor, he was surprised by the look on his face. It was a look of both admiration and disappointment, if it were possible to feel both of those emotions at the same time.

"What's the matter, Professor?"

Professor Smith studied Harry for a long moment before responding. "Harry, I believe we should talk about what happened today. This was your first real confrontation since June, correct?" He saw Harry give a nod and then continued, "Your actions in fighting against the Dementors and Death-Eaters were exemplary. You and your friends handled yourselves very well and helped a great many people. For that reason, you should be very proud of yourselves." Harry smiled with pride at hearing these words.

Professor Smith's smile faded leaving a serious look which caused Harry's smile to falter. "However, your actions after that point left a little to be desired." He held up a hand to stop Harry's expected objection, "Do you not see what mistakes have been made today? I know that you did not start your day intending to get into a duel with the Minister of Magic, or cause two high-ranking ministry officials to lose their jobs. The fact remains, however that it did happen and although some good might have come from it, there are also some bad things to come from it."

Harry was looking confused now. "Harry, I want you to think about the duel. What, if anything, did you learn about yourself today?"

Harry thought back, trying to understand what his professor saw. "I'm not sure what you're trying to make me see, sir."

"Harry, what were you thinking when the duel started? I have become quite accustomed to your dueling style and I know you were holding back at first. Why?"

Harry frowned, "I didn't want my increased abilities to become known. If the enemy doesn't know what I'm capable of then I have an advantage."

"Yes, you do. So if you didn't want to give away your advantage, why did you?"

Harry's anger began to grow once more, "I had to. He began to use dangerous curses, so I had to show more of what I could do to keep from losing."

"Wouldn't it have been more effective to not be in that predicament in the first place?"

Harry's eyes widened in understanding, "I see what you're getting at. If I hadn't gotten into the duel in the first place, I wouldn't have shown anything."

"Exactly. Why did you get into the duel?"

Harry looked incredulously at the professor, "You told me I didn't have a choice. You said that once the challenge had been given we had to go through with it."

"That is true, but what I am asking is, why did you challenge him to a duel in the first place?"

Harry thought for a minute, and then frowned again, "I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking because I was angry." Harry's shoulders slumped, "I let my anger cloud my judgment."

"Exactly. You reverted to your old standby of acting before thinking." The professor paused before continuing. "I believe we need to work on controlling your emotions. Your control is excellent for your Occlumency, but it is obviously lacking in your decision making."

Harry sat in his chair, contemplating his anger problem, "I know I tend to get angry easily. I just don't know how to not let things get to me."

"Harry, there is an old muggle expression I think you should keep in mind: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." The professor smiled and continued, "You become very upset by the things people say about you, so much so that some people taunt you just to get you to lose control. You need to remember that they are just words. I can't tell you how to ignore the words, because I know that sometimes it's very difficult. I can tell you, though, that if you succeed in ignoring the comments that you will begin to see a decrease in them. Once people figure out that they can't get to you like that they will get discouraged and move on."

Harry nodded in understanding, "I sometimes wish I could just shut down my emotions. Everything would be so much easier without them blinding me."

"That's not necessarily true. While it is true that sometimes our emotions can blind us to the truth of our lives, without emotions we would be empty shells. Without emotions, we could not feel pride in our accomplishments. We could not feel safety, happiness, or contentment in our lives. We could not feel love or hope. Our emotions are what make us human." The professor gave a small dramatic pause, "They are also what drive our magic."

Harry had another confused look, "What do you mean? How do emotions drive our magic?"

"By the end of your duel, your spells gained strength. What was different between the end of the duel and the beginning?"

"I got angry because he broke the rules and used a potentially fatal curse."

"Yes, you pulled more power from your emotions of anger making your spells stronger. You see when you add emotion to a spell you can increase its potency."

"I can see that emotions can make a spell stronger. If I am trying to control my emotions, how can I use them to increase my power?"

"Harry, what is the first thing to go through your head when you sense the approach of a Dementor?"

"I feel fear. I feel afraid of what they can do to me."

"Yes, you feel fear, but that doesn't stop you from being able to conjure a Patronus. Does it?"

Harry nodded in understanding, "I see what you mean. I control my fear so that I can draw on my happy memories to cast the spell."

"Exactly, you control your emotions in decision making so you can pull strength from the emotions you need for each spell."

"Professor, I pulled from my anger to make my stunners more powerful. I've tried to use my anger to cast other spells before, but it didn't work. Why doesn't it work for all spells?"

"I assume you are referring to your attempt at the Cruciatus?" Harry nodded, surprised that the professor knew about that. "That's because of the nature of that curse. Do you know why it's considered an unforgivable curse?"

"It's used to torture people."

"That's true, but that's not the reason. In order to cast that curse, you have to want to cause pain. In fact, you have to enjoy causing pain to the point that you actually derive pleasure from it. The other unforgivables are the same. They are powered by the desire to control or kill another. In order to cast those curses you need to gain pleasure from controlling another being or causing death." The professor paused to let this information sink in before continuing. "Harry, you will never be able to cast those curses. You don't gain pleasure from causing other people to suffer. It's not a bad thing. Most witches and wizards who fight on the side of the light can't cast those dark curses. Neither Professor Dumbledore nor I can cast those curses, so don't be concerned about the fact that you can't."

Harry was worried, "Sir, if I won't ever be able to cast those curses, how will I ever be able to fulfill the prophecy?"

"Harry, there are more ways to cause death than just the killing curse. That is something that we will work on at a later date. It is more important to me to get you able to defend yourself for now. Your power is strong but not anywhere near strong enough to fulfill the prophecy, yet. You still have some magical growing to do."

Harry nodded once again and continued to think about what was being said. As Harry was going over the conversation in his head, he stopped to think about a specific comment his professor had made. "Sir, a moment ago you said that neither Professor Dumbledore nor you could cast the unforgivables." Harry continued after seeing the professor nod in agreement, "The way you said it made it seem as if you felt you were an equal with Dumbledore. Is that true? Do you consider yourself to be Dumbledore's equal?"

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore and I are both powerful magical beings, but no, we are not equals. We both share the same goals, but we also each have our own abilities and limitations."

"Sir, I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be holding something back from me. The one thing I learned last year was that it was not a good idea to keep things from me. I want you to be honest with me, sir. I have blindly placed my trust in you to teach me what I need to survive and help me win. I would hope that that trust would be returned by you. I want you to be honest with me, please."

The professor stared at Harry for some time, considering the young man. The emotions in his face seemed to be battling as to whether or not to say more. As Harry was about to speak again, Professor Smith decided it was time for some truth.

"Harry, I can not tell you everything you want to hear, yet. However, what I will tell you has to stay here, between us. You have to promise not to even tell your friends what I am going to share with you. Do you agree?"

Harry was hesitant. He didn't want any more secrets to be kept from him, or to keep any secrets from his friends. He also wanted to know as much as possible and was worried about what his professor could be hiding. After several moments of contemplation, Harry finally agreed to keep everything they were about to talk about secret.

Professor Smith took a deep breath and began, "Harry, I am not what I seem to be. How old would you say I am?"

Harry took a long hard look at Professor Smith, "Physically, you look to be in your early thirties, but your knowledge and the way you speak makes you seem much older."

"Yes, I am much older than I look. Exactly how much older, I will not say, yet. Suffice it to say that I have been around for a long time. I have seen many things and been many places. The one constant in my life is teaching. My purpose for continuing to live is to teach the next generation of powerful wizards."

"So, you are a teacher who is older than he looks. Why is this such a secret? Where have you taught before and why are you only starting to teach here now? You are an excellent teacher, why haven't you been teaching at Hogwarts until now?"

"Harry, you are the first student I have had who is still in school. All of my other students were adults when they began to show the signs of their increased powers. My teaching of you and your friends is the first time I have ever had a group lesson before. I have always been able to be very secretive in my teaching methods and my identity. My past students are the only ones who know all there is to know about me."

Professor Smith looked into Harry's eyes as if trying to peer into his very soul, "Harry, I usually do not make myself known to my students until they have had noticeable increases in power. Last year you began to show some signs of what you are capable of but not enough that I would normally get involved. However, your situation is unique in that Voldemort will not allow you to naturally reach that point, so I decided that I needed to make myself known to be able to help you the best that I can."

"What makes you so sure that I am this next powerful wizard?"

"The Prophecy. The Prophecy can only be about you, so that is why I have been watching your progress with interest. I have been observing you from afar for many years, Harry. I know of your story and how you have dealt with the many things in your life. The fact that you have dealt with adversity and ended up being the person that you are today speaks volumes. It would have been very easy to end up being bitter, petty, and angry with the world. You have been just the opposite. You show great caring, loyalty, and hope. These are very powerful feelings that you posses in great quantities."

"Is that the power the Dark Lord knows not?"

"No. They are foreign to him, but they are not what will help you reach your full potential."

Harry was getting confused again, "Do you know what this power is?"

"Yes."

Harry stared wide-eyed at his professor, "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"No, I'm not." Before Harry could begin his protests, the professor continued, "Harry, I can not tell you what it is. If I were to tell you then you would not find it. It is something that must be found naturally and truthfully. If I were to tell you, then you would immediately try to find it. Even if you found it, you would never know if it was real."

Harry's confusion was at an all time high now, "How would I not be able to find it if I knew what it was? If I don't know what it is, how will I know when I have found it?"

The professor sighed, "This is why I don't usually make my presence known until my students have found their power. You will know when you have found it. You will be able to feel it flowing through you. It will be unmistakable."

"Can you tell me how to find it?"

"Alas, no I can not. However, if I am not mistaken, you are on your way to finding it."

The professor said this last bit with a smile, much to Harry's displeasure. Harry decided to change the course of the conversation, "How many other students have you had?"

"You would be my fifth."

"Do I know any of your other students? Would I know who any of them were?"

"You would probably know of at least one of them, but don't ask for names. I can not tell you who any of my previous students were until it is certain that you are one of them."

"What do you mean by that? I am already one of your students. I mean, I thought when you taught another person something that made them your student."

"What I mean Harry, is that while I am teaching you some things, you are not yet my student. I offered my services to Professor Dumbledore so that I could try to help you become one of my students more quickly. As I said earlier, I don't believe that Voldemort is going to make it possible for you to progress naturally. If I am right, and you are the next powerful wizard, then I have to help you learn to master your powers. When you finally show signs of that power, then I will concentrate on teaching you and you alone."

"Is Professor Dumbledore one of the wizards you have taught?" Harry was still curious, "After all, he is considered to be the most powerful wizard of this time. If your job is to train the powerful wizards, then he should have been one of your students. Shouldn't he?"

Professor Smith chuckled, "No, I never had the pleasure of teaching Professor Dumbledore. Harry, the headmaster is a very powerful wizard, but it is insignificant compared to the power my students can wield. If you are truly meant to be one of my students, your power will make Professor Dumbledore look like a mere child by comparison."

Harry sat stunned into silence. Could he really be more powerful than Dumbledore? If that was true, he could understand why Voldemort wanted him dead. How could he keep this from his friends? How old could his professor be? Professor Dumbledore had to be over one hundred and fifty. If Dumbledore was considered the most powerful wizard of this time and his power was nothing compared to what Professor Smith's students were capable of, how long ago had he last taught someone? How powerful was Professor Smith? This was a lot of information to take in. In fact, this was huge.

Slowly, he began to accept the possibility this was true and the responsibility of keeping this silent. Harry looked into the eyes of his professor once more. Nodding his acceptance of the information, he spoke. "Sir, I appreciate the trust you show in me by sharing this information. I assure you that that trust was not misplaced, and will make sure that this information does not get out through me."

"Thank you, Harry." Professor Smith nodded in appreciation and continued; "Now I think we need to start working on controlling your emotions."

They worked for the rest of their time at the castle on Harry's ability to control his emotions. It was a difficult task in that they had to try many different approaches before getting any positive results. In the end, Harry found the simplest method to be releasing the anger through humor. Professor Smith would call upon embarrassing memories of Harry's to get him angry, while Harry would respond with his own humorous embarrassing comments about the professor. When they finished for the day, while he would still end up quite angry, he wasn't losing control any more.

The next morning at breakfast, Harry was pleased. Hedwig had brought in the latest edition of the Daily Prophet, and on the front page was the headline that made Harry so happy.

_**Minister of Magic Forced to Resign**_

The story went on to detail Harry's participation. In fact, most of the stories in the paper that day had to do with the effects of the attack on Diagon Alley and the duel. In another article, it was stated that the Wizengamot had appointed Madam Bones as the interim Minister until a proper election could take place. The main reason for this was the arrest of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, Dolores Umbridge, who would normally have taken over the post. Harry wasn't happy about his inclusion in the news, but was extremely happy about the outcome.

The next couple of days flew by. Whenever the teens could, they would go to their secret potions lab to keep working on the potion. Hermione being the most accomplished of the four at brewing potions was the one in charge of this task. One wrong step and they would destroy the potion, or even worse create a poison. This was a very advanced potion that contained many of the same ingredients that went into most poisons. The reason for this was that the potion was supposed to place the drinker into a deep trance almost like a coma. Once in this trance, the drinker would meet and observe his or her inner animal, the form of his or her animagus.

After Harry's next lesson, he joined his friends in the lab for the final steps of the brewing process. All four of them were quite nervous and excited at the same time. The potion sat bubbling in it's cauldron on a table in the middle of the room. There were four glasses sitting next to the cauldron along with an ordinary pair of scissors. On another table against one wall, sat another bubbling potion. It was a remedy, in case they messed up the potion and it had turned into a poison. They didn't want to have to explain why they had poisoned themselves to any of the adults.

"Okay," Hermione said, "This is kind of like the Polyjuice Potion in that we need to put a bit of ourselves in the potion. I figured that a small cutting of hair would work. I also think we should do this one at a time, in case something goes wrong."

Every body agreed and much to everyone's surprise, Ron volunteered to go first. "If I don't go first, I might lose my nerve." Hermione cut a small lock of Ron's hair and dropped it in his glass then ladled in a serving of potion. Ron stirred if in the glass for the necessary two minutes and then threw the drink back like a shot. He swallowed quickly and immediately started to sway. The other three quickly set him down in a chair. Almost as soon as he was seated, his eyes rolled back into the top of his head and his body went completely limp.

Ron remained like that for about fifteen minutes. Harry and company were beginning to worry when Ron started to blink and show signs of waking. Hermione was crouching nervously in front of Ron holding one of his hands. Ron was beginning to regain his bearings as a grin crept across his face.

After about five more minutes, he was absolutely beaming, "WICKED! I'm a dog! Not just any dog, mind you, I'm a Rottweiler!"

Harry was grinning at his best friend, "Excellent, Ron. That's a perfect animal for you. They're one of the most powerful breeds of dogs and extremely loyal to their owners. They'll do almost anything to protect the families they live with. That fits you." Ginny was giving her own wicked grin to her brother.

Hermione was finally smiling too. Knowing that the potion worked, she wanted to go next. She went through the same process as Ron and twenty minutes later, she sat there grinning madly. "I'm an eagle!" She exclaimed, "In fact, I think I'm a very specific eagle." With that, she dove into her book bag and began digging around for a specific book. A moment later, she sat up leafing through _Hogwarts, A History. _"Yes, this is it!" She laid the book on the table open to the pages informing about the different houses. "I'm the Ravenclaw Eagle!"

Ron laughed, "No wonder you're the smartest witch in the year. You're the mascot of the house with all of the brains." This comment caused Ginny and Harry to both fall to the floor in fits of laughter.

Ginny wanted to go next. She copied the process Ron and Hermione went through and twenty minutes later had her own wicked grin. "I'm a red fox!"

Hermione responded, "Oh, that's perfect. They're really quick and ferocious when they want to be."

Now it was Harry's turn. He was excited but apprehensive. He prepared his glass and with a last hopeful look at his friends, drank the potion quickly. The taste was one of the most vile things he had ever had the displeasure of tasting. Before he had time to really describe the taste, he felt himself beginning to lose consciousness. He was quickly in a state of deep sleep.

Slowly Harry began to get lucid. He opened his eyes and began to look around. He was trying to figure out where he was and why he was there. The last thing he remembered was being in a room with his friends and then drinking something foul. What was it? A potion! An animagus potion! Now he remembered, he was in a trance to find his inner animal.

He looked around expectantly, hoping to see it quickly. What he did see made him wrinkle his forehead in curiosity. All around him, he saw bars and panes of glass. On the other side of the bars and glass were all sorts of animals. Animals of every variety imaginable. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, and reptiles. Animals with hooves, domesticated animals, and wild animals. He was in what looked like a zoo, a zoo that housed every non-magical animal imaginable. He didn't understand. Was he supposed to choose which one he wanted to be? 'But, my animal is supposed to choose me. Isn't it?'

As he continued to look around at all of these animals, he finally voiced his concerns, "How am I supposed to know which one of you I can be?" At this pronouncement, every animal turned its eyes to look at Harry. As one, they all moved to the edge of their respective enclosures. As he looked closer at each one, he noticed something eerily familiar about them. They all had the same emerald green eyes, Harry's eyes, and on their foreheads sat a very faint lightning bolt shape in their coloring. It wasn't obvious unless you really looked closely. Harry stood there perplexed for another moment when a new thought occurred. "I can be all of you can't I?" At once, all of the animals began to nod their heads as if to say "YES!"

As soon as he understood, the zoo began to disappear and he realized that he was coming out of the trance. He was flabbergasted. He could become any animal he wanted to. This had to prove to him that he was indeed a powerful wizard. As he was regaining his senses, he realized that this was something that he couldn't tell his friends. This would lead to discussions involving his talk with Professor Smith from two days ago. He had to think fast, he had to come up with one animal that would seem to fit him. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all looked at him expectantly, fit to burst in anticipation.

"Well?" Ginny was extremely excited. "What are you?"

Harry pondered for a moment and then decided, "I'm a mongoose!"

Now Hermione exclaimed, "Harry, that's perfect! Mongooses hunt snakes! Deadly cobras to be exact. It's so appropriate for you to be an animal that hunts snakes considering who your opponent is."

Harry simply smiled at his friends. He hated lying to them about this, but he had promised Professor Smith not to say anything about his potential. He knew if he told his friends the truth, they would start to ask questions and would eventually figure out about his talk with the professor. Harry was so wrapped up in his thoughts; he didn't notice the questioning look that Ginny gave him, almost as if she could tell he was holding something back. She soon decided to let it go and celebrate with the rest of the group.


	12. Back to School

I would like to take this opportunity to thank JK Rowling for writing a story that is so wonderful that it got me to actually want to write. If my English teachers from back in high school could see me now they would just laugh.

Once again, I own nothing except the plot and any characters that I created. Any similarity to other fics is purely accidental and should be taken as flattery.

To: harryp123, The One Above All, 123315, Shelly112, Wytil, HermioneGreen, and laxgoalie210, thank you for the reviews. Laxgoalie210, no the student that Harry might have heard of is not Tom Riddle. Neither Professor Smith nor his students have the ability to cast the unforgivables with any power or ability.

**Chapter 12 – Time for School**

For the rest of the evening, Harry's thoughts kept returning to the events in his trance. The questions that kept forming in his mind were distracting him from anything else. He was finding himself on the receiving end of odd looks from his friends, especially Ginny. It was obvious to them that something was bothering him, but none of the others really wanted to push the issue. They were used to dealing with Harry's desire to work things out for himself. They knew he would fill them in when he was ready.

That night was one of the first restless night's sleep he'd had since he started his mind clearing exercises. It wasn't that it was full of nightmares or visions, more that it was full of unanswered questions. His distraction carried on through the next two days until it came time for his next one-on-one lesson with Professor Smith.

"All right, Harry," Professor Smith started. "What's bothering you? You are obviously distracted. Your performance last night in the dueling practice was very off. Tell me what's going on."

Harry had thought his distraction might be noticeable, but not obvious. "Professor," Harry started but wasn't sure how to explain without getting himself and his friends in trouble. He decided to just say it, "Professor, I need you to promise me that what I am about to talk to you about does NOT leave this room." Harry waited for the professor to nod in agreement before continuing. "After our lesson the day of the attack, my friends and I decided to take advantage of the information in a book left to me by my father. The book in question gives rather detailed information on how to become an animagus." Harry paused to see if he was about to get scolded, but when nothing came he continued. "Well, sir, once we decided to give it a try, we began the process of brewing the potion that is needed to help us find our respective animal. After my last lesson with you, the potion was ready. So we drank it."

At this point Professor Smith broke in, "Let me guess. You had one of two things happen to you. Number one, you saw nothing at all." He paused to check Harry's reaction, "Judging by your reaction I would say that isn't the case. So what must be bothering you is that you saw more than one animal. Is that correct?"

Harry couldn't do anything more than just nod in confirmation. "I see. So, exactly how many animals did you see in your trance?"

"All of them, I think. It looked like I was in a zoo that housed every animal imaginable. They all had the same green eyes and a hardly noticeable lightning bolt shaped discoloration of their fur, feathers, or skin on their foreheads. When I asked if I could become all of them, they all nodded at me in unison. Have you ever heard of anything like this before?"

Harry looked at his professor and was astonished by what he saw. Professor Smith was smiling and chuckled amusedly before replying, "Yes, Harry, as a matter of fact, I have heard of that happening before. Five times in fact. All of my former students had the same experience as you. Once you figure out what your power is and unlock it, you will have no problems learning to become any animal you wish."

Harry, in a very good imitation of a gold fish, was opening his mouth as if to speak and then closing it again because he simply didn't know what to say. He remained like that for a few moments before he thought more clearly about what he had just been told. "You said that I would be the fifth person that you taught. That means that you have had four students before me. Yet you just said that you have heard of this happening five times before this. Who, may I ask, is the fifth?"

The grin on Professor Smith's face couldn't get much bigger, and if Harry didn't know better it looked like the professor's eyes were twinkling similarly to Dumbledore's, "Now, Harry, I would think that would be obvious to you by now. The fifth person to whom I am referring is ME." Harry was back to imitating a goldfish again. "Yes, Harry, I know what you're going through because I went through it myself. The difference is that unlike me, you have someone along to help you understand what's happening." Professor Smith paused before continuing, "May I ask, what did you tell your friends about your trance?"

"After our last conversation, I wasn't sure if telling them the truth about my trance would be a good idea. I decided to tell them that I only saw one animal."

"What animal?"

"I had to think quickly, so I really didn't think clearly. I told them the first animal that came to mind. I told them I was a mongoose."

Professor Smith nodded, "A very appropriate choice, all things considered. I do believe, however, that you would be able to be a bit more honest with your friends, if you would like. Telling them about your trance, without mentioning about me, wouldn't say too much. Your friends can already tell you are a very exceptional wizard, Harry. They understand not to be surprised by anything you can do anymore. Telling them you can be more than one animal would not be much of a surprise to them. You should even be able to master a couple of your forms without accessing your full power. Just don't mention that you know anything about how much power you could eventually have."

"Are you sure?" Harry questioned his professor, "Wouldn't that cause them to ask more questions? Hermione, for one, would feel the need to do any research necessary to find out answers about anything she doesn't know about."

Professor Smith chuckled again, "Yes, I can tell she doesn't take too well to not knowing something. However, she can research all she wants about this because there is nothing recorded about this sort of phenomenon happening before. As I said, you are only the sixth person in history to have this opportunity. The only people who know about this are the people themselves, their closest friends, and of course their teacher."

After finally getting some more of his questions answered, Harry found his thoughts and emotions were easier to get under control. He began to use some of his occlumency skills to help him ignore the taunts of his professor and control his anger better. He was learning that if he placed the negative memories and feelings behind a walled off section of his mind then he wouldn't get as angry. He was actually starting to find the taunts to be kind of funny without his own negativity to fuel the anger.

After his training, Harry got together with his friends for what they were now referring to as their nightly winding down time. They all proceeded to sit down and begin playing some games and soon they were all laughing and having fun. It was obvious to everyone that Harry's attitude had improved.

"Harry," Ginny asked, "What did you do tonight that has you in such a good mood?"

Harry looked confused for a moment, "What do you mean?"

All three of his friends scoffed before Ginny answered back, "Harry, ever since we took the potion, you've been all out of sorts."

"Yeah, Harry," Ron added, "You've been acting like you're in another bloody universe or something."

"Ron's right, Harry," Hermione stated, "You have been out of it. What's been wrong?"

Harry thought for a moment, "Well, you're right. Something had been bugging me about my trance. I didn't exactly tell you guys the whole truth about what I saw." Harry waited for the cries of astonishment to die down before continuing. "I know, I told you that I wouldn't keep any more secrets from you guys, but I was kind of overwhelmed by what happened."

Ron looked at Harry skeptically, "Are you telling us that you didn't really see a mongoose?"

"No, that's not it at all. I did see a mongoose. It was one of many animals I saw."

Ginny cut in, "What do you mean, one of many animals? How many animals did you see?"

Harry was somewhat hesitant, "Um, all of them, I think."

"Harry," Hermione questioned, "You do realize that no one has ever been known to have more than one animagus form, don't you? This isn't normal."

"Hermione, since when have I ever been normal? It just wouldn't be my life if something didn't go differently." Harry began to laugh at the looks of astonishment on his friends' faces.

Ginny then said, "Harry, are you sure that you're supposed to be able to be all of the animals you saw?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am." Harry then proceeded to explain his trance in detail. When he was done, the four of them just sat in silence for some time. This was a lot to take in at once.

"I thought you were hiding something from us after you told us you were a mongoose." Ginny broke the silence, "I could tell you were holding something back, but now that I know what, I understand why. That was a lot to deal with."

"Harry," Ron asked, "Do you think you can really become all of them?"

"I don't know, Ron. I suppose I should try them one at a time. I mean, I should master one transformation and then move on to the next animal. You know, as much as I like the thought of becoming a mongoose, I think I would really like to try for something bigger and less out of place here in the UK."

"Brilliant! Bloody brilliant." Ron exclaimed quietly.

Hermione decided to ask, "What do you have in mind, Harry?"

"I think I'd like to try for a stag. I figure if everyone is going to keep telling me how much I look like my father, I might as well take the same form as he did."

Ginny smiled at Harry, "I think your dad would like that."

They laughed and relaxed for a while longer then headed off to bed. The rest of the summer holidays went by rather uneventfully. The four friends would spend some of their study time each day learning about their respective animals. The book told them that in order to transform they had to have a full and extensive knowledge of the animal they were going to transform into. They would read any and all books they could find with information on their animals. They decided it would be best to have a thorough knowledge of their animals before trying to learn the transformations.

By the end of August, they had an in-depth knowledge of their animals and they were beginning to study about the transformation itself. Their dueling was getting even better; in fact Harry could now hold his own against Tonks, Remus, and Kingsley at the same time. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were also starting to win occasional duels against some of the adults, much to Bill and Charlie's displeasure. Their hand-to-hand combat was coming along nicely as well.

Finally, the official end of summer arrived, the first day of September. The atmosphere at headquarters this morning was one of excitement, depression, and chaos. They were excited to be heading back to school, but depressed to be leaving their private study area of the castle. The chaos encompassed all of the last minute rushing around to make sure they had everything packed and getting to King's Cross on time. Once breakfast was over and all of the students were packed and ready, they headed out. Madam Bones had agreed to let them use a couple of ministry cars to get everyone to the station today and they made it with plenty of time to spare, for once. They went through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ in groups of two, each student with a member of the guard. Hermione and Moody went first. They were followed by Ginny and Mrs. Weasley then Ron and Mr. Weasley. Harry was last with Remus.

Even though they had arrived somewhat early, the platform was still packed with people. In fact, it seemed a little more crowded than usual. There were Aurors stationed all around the platform to guard against a possible Death-Eater attack. Harry caught a wink from Tonks through the crowd and a nod from Kingsley. Both being Aurors, they were among the guards on the platform.

Before Harry could make his way onto the train, he found himself surrounded by people. Soon he realized that they weren't just ordinary people, but reporters. The press had been waiting to get a chance to talk to him ever since the attack on Diagon Alley. There were a lot of questions about the attack, the duel with the minister, and finally how he felt about the whole thing. Before he could pry himself away, one reporter asked a question that made him snap.

"Mr. Potter, who do you think should be the next Minister of Magic?"

Harry recognized that sickly sweet voice and looked around for its owner. Then he spotted her, "Hello, Ms. Skeeter. It's so nice to see you again. I'm glad to see that you've turned over a new leaf and started reporting things more truthfully. I've read a lot of your recent articles and am impressed."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. I have you to thank for my change of heart, but you didn't answer the question."

"Why would it matter who I think should be Minister? I'm just one person and a teen at that, why should my opinion matter? It's not like I get any say in it."

"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems that the people want to know who you think would make a good Minister. Since you seemed to not approve of Minister Fudge, people want to know who you would approve of."

Harry could feel the stirrings of anger rising up inside him, "I would hope that the people would be intelligent enough to make their own _informed_ opinion. It seems to me that the problem with the leadership of this country in the past has been the leaders were put in place because they were _pure-blood_s. They weren't elected because of what they wanted to accomplish. They were elected because they were the best way to prevent change and growth. What better way to keep the same prejudices in place than to elect a weak blind pure-blood who can be manipulated easily? That is what Fudge was."

Rita Skeeter was surprised by this outburst; she obviously was not expecting to get such a detailed story when she had come here today. "Are you saying that pure-bloods are weak?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at Ms. Skeeter, "No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm trying to say is that purity of blood shouldn't matter. For example, the most intelligent student at Hogwarts is a muggleborn witch." There was a small gasp from the group of reporters, "What about me? My mother was a muggleborn, which makes me a half-blood. How many pure-bloods have faced Voldemort…" the assembled crowd began to shriek and shiver at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "What is wrong with you people? It's only a name. It's not as if when you say it he's going to suddenly appear and kill you. Look, VOLDEMORT. See, nothing. No harm came to us. VOLDEMORT, VOLDEMORT, VOLDEMORT, VOLDEMORT. You people are pathetic, it's just a name. Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself. You are afraid of a name, and not just any name. You are afraid of a name he made up himself."

Harry was on a roll now. He decided to show them what he knew about Voldemort. He took out his wand and proceeded to write in the air, _I AM LORD VOLDEMORT._ When he was finished, he swept his wand through the middle of the floating letters causing them to rearrange themselves to say, _TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE_. "You see, Tom Riddle rearranged the letters of his own name to create his new identity. Do you know why he decided to change his name? He didn't want to keep the name of his father, his _MUGGLE_ father." There were lots of gasps at this bit of information, "Yes, Voldemort is a half-blood. If pure-bloods are supposed to be so much better and more powerful than everyone else, then why is everyone afraid of a half-blood like Voldemort?"

There was random muttering in the crowd now. Harry was waiting to allow this bit of information to sink in. As he was preparing to go on, Rita Skeeter asked another question, "How do you know this?"

Harry was expecting this question, "He told me himself. In my second year, I was faced with a memory of him that he had preserved in a diary when he was sixteen. We had an informative discussion about his past, just before I destroyed him again." Harry decided to get back to his original point, "Even though he is an evil git, I do have to admit that he is one of the most powerful wizards alive right now. If pure-bloods are supposed to be so superior, why is a half-blood more powerful and more feared than just about everybody? Even more, why is another half-blood like me the only person who has come face-to-face with him _five_ times and lived to tell the tales? Now do you understand why I say purity of blood is meaningless?"

The crowd was muttering incoherently amongst themselves as Rita Skeeter got back to her original question. "Mr. Potter, as informative as you have been to us today, you still haven't answered the original question. Who do you think would make a good Minister of Magic?"

Harry glared at Rita one more time before answering, "Ms. Skeeter, I think that the next Minister needs to be someone who will try to break down the barriers between the pure-bloods and non pure-bloods, and try to bridge the gap between wizards and the rest of the magical creatures. Just because someone had the misfortune of being bitten by a werewolf does **NOT** mean that they are a bad person. One of my parents' best friends is a werewolf. He is also someone that they trusted and loved like family. He was and still is one of the most trustworthy and honorable people I know. Then there is Professor Hagrid, a half-giant and one of the first and most loyal friends I had in the wizarding world. He may have a misguided opinion of what is dangerous, but if you are lucky enough to have him as a friend then he will do anything he can to help you stay safe. The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest are treated very poorly, even though they are a very intelligent, noble, and honorable race of beings. Then there are the muggles. They may not have the ability to do the things that we can, but they make up for it with their ability to use their minds. They have been able to improve their lives with advancements in technology."

"Now, you asked me who I think should be the next Minister? I think it should be someone who doesn't care about a person's bloodline, but cares instead about the quality of their character. Someone who can accept anyone who shows the worthiness to be trusted. Someone who will be fair and impartial yet stern in their observing of the laws of the country. I know of several people who would fit that description. Madam Bones, Amos Diggory of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and Arthur Weasley of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Those are three people whom I think would be good for the job, but I think that the wizards and witches of this country should listen to what the candidates have to say and choose one that they agree with."

Harry now held up his hand to prevent further questions, "As much as I would like to continue talking with all of you, I need to get on the train and go to school. Good day."

The members of the guard who had escorted the students to the platform then moved in to get Harry quickly on the train. He barely had time to say his goodbyes before the train's whistle blew and the train began to move off. Harry quickly found Neville Longbottom sitting alone in a compartment and joined him. A short while later, they were joined by Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna Lovegood who had all just gotten out of their prefects' meeting.

"Neville, Luna," Harry started, "I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I led you both into danger last year. I really appreciate that you felt compelled to go with me, but I wish it could have been avoided."

Neville looked at Harry incredulously, "Harry, you don't need to apologize to me. You helped me last year. You taught me that I could do better. You showed confidence in me and helped me learn how to protect myself. I owed it to you to help you when you needed it, and I would do it again if I needed to. I consider you to be a friend and will always be there for you when you need me."

Luna then spoke in her airy voice, "Yes, Harry, Neville's right. You showed confidence in us among others and taught us all. I think if other members of the DA had been there, they would have come with us too. I think you will find when we return to school that there are a lot of people who think the world of you and would gladly help you whenever you might need it."

Harry sat there stunned by these comments. How did he manage to engender this kind of support from other people? It was all Harry could do to just say, "Thank you."

"It's all right, Harry." Neville continued, "Hey, look at this. Since I broke my dad's old wand, Gran took me to get a new one. She was so proud of me for showing my bravery. She said I reminded her of my father." Neville was holding his wand out for everyone to see, "Holly, 12 inches, with a dragon heartstring."

"Excellent, Neville," Harry responded, "Mr. Ollivander told me once that you won't be as successful with someone else's wand as you would with one picked just for you."

Neville nodded his agreement as Luna spoke in her airy voice, "Harry, have you had a good summer? Did you do any traveling? My father and I took a trip to Sweden to try to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. We found some tracks but couldn't seem to find anything more. Oh, well, there's always next year."

Harry and the rest all gave each other a look that clearly said they thought her nickname of Loony Lovegood was well earned. Soon, they were receiving visits from various members of the DA. Lavender Brown and the Patil twins, Parvati and Padma, stopped by to say hello. They were soon followed by Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, then Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff. Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Cho Chang, from Ravenclaw, came soon after. Katie Bell stopped in to talk quidditch for a while, leaving just as the lady with the snack trolley showed up.

Hermione and Ginny were engrossed in various books, Luna was reading the Quibbler, and Neville was watching Ron and Harry play a game of wizard's chess when the not unexpected interruption came. "Well, well, well," came the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. "If it isn't Potty and his friends. Out to change the world now, Scar head? Whatever the Gryffindor Golden Boy wants, he gets?"

Harry looked up to see the blond haired Slytherin standing in the doorway flanked, as usual by his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle. Harry smiled as he responded, "Ooh, I haven't heard that one before. What's the matter, Ferret, not imaginative enough to come up with some new insults each year? Maybe you should ask your father for some new material. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, you can't, since he's in Azkaban. Oh well, that's what happens when you can't even manage to stop a group of kids you have outnumbered two-to-one."

Draco scowled, "The Dark Lord won't let my father stay in there long, Potter. You will pay dearly for what you've done."

As Malfoy finished speaking, he began reaching into his robes, only to freeze as he realized that Harry was no longer sitting casually by the window, but standing in front of him, with the tip of Harry's wand touching the tip of Draco's nose. "I don't think it would be a good idea to finish that motion, Malfoy. Now, why don't you be a good little bouncing ferret, and take your two gorillas to some other area of the train before you get yourselves hurt?"

Draco quickly stumbled backward through the door and ran down the corridor of the train with Crabbe and Goyle hot on his tail. Harry closed the door and turned back around to retake his seat only to see his five friends staring at him with looks of astonishment on their faces.

"Harry," Neville questioned, "How did you do that? I never even saw you move. One second you're sitting by the window, the next second you're standing on the other side of the room with your wand out. I've never seen anyone move that fast."

Hermione was the next to chime in, "Harry, I'm impressed with how you controlled your temper. Last year, you would have just hexed him. You're definitely controlling your emotions. Well done."

The rest of the train ride was blissfully uneventful, and they soon found themselves arriving at the train station in Hogsmead. They disembarked the train and Harry was quite happy to hear the familiar cry of "Firs years, Firs years, this way," from Hagrid. Harry gave his half-giant friend a warm wave and made his way to one of the apparently horseless drawn carriages. Harry, Neville, and Luna were still the only ones who were able to see that the carriages were really drawn by thestrals, a magical black-winged horse with a dragonish face and neck and a fleshless skeletal body. The six of them managed to cram into one carriage for the bumpy ride up to the castle, looking forward to a new year at Hogwarts.


	13. Welcomings

Once again, you know the drill. I do not own anything but the plot and any new characters I add. All information I write about magical creatures is either from one of the already written Harry Potter books from Mrs. Rowling or from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 

I would also like to once again thank my wife and my mom for proof reading for me and my wife and a couple of friends for helping me work through my various boughts of writers block.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter finished. I ran into some issues that I had not foreseen and had difficulty coming up with what I felt were acceptable ways to solve my dilemma. 

**Chapter 13 – Welcomings **

The usual feeling of home Harry felt when arriving at the front steps of Hogwarts was not as strong this year. Last year had not been a particularly happy one in the school and those thoughts were beginning to return to Harry's mind once again. Dealing with the pain of everyone at school thinking he was an attention-seeking lunatic while being ignored by his mentor for the majority of the school year had been very difficult indeed. Throw-in an inept Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, who was out to make his life a living hell, and it truly was a miracle that he made it through the last year at all.

But that was last year. This year was going to be very different. The wizarding world now knew that he and Dumbledore had been telling the truth all along. The new Defense instructor was actually a competent teacher, mysterious but effective. He was much better prepared this year than any year he had had in the past due to his hard work both physically and mentally over the summer. Most importantly, he finally knew why his life was like it is. He finally knew about the prophecy and why he had been a target for death since before he was even born.

Thinking about the prophecy caused Harry to realize that he owed it to Neville and Luna to let them know too. After all, they had risked their lives at the end of last year to protect it as well; they should at least have an idea of what it said. Yes, as soon as Harry could find a private moment alone with the two of them he would tell them about it. Especially Neville, since he was the only other boy that the prophecy could have been referring to.

"Hey, you awake in there?" Harry found himself being shaken from his thoughts by Ron. "Come on, Harry. We're here. It's time to go in."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Harry replied. "Don't get your knickers in a twist."

The six friends climbed out of the carriage and made their way up the steps into the entrance hall. Harry was moving toward the great hall when he sensed something was wrong. He started looking around quickly, scanning the entire hall for what he sensed. It didn't take long to locate the source of his unease. Floating silently up near the chandelier was Peeves the Poltergeist with what looked like a straw and a handful of ink pellets in his hands preparing for an assault upon the students. Peeves quickly raised the straw up to his mouth and blew into it sending one of his projectiles speedily toward an unsuspecting second year Hufflepuff. Acting so quickly that he was not much more than a blur, Harry whipped out his wand and sent a banishing charm at the pellet, sending it straight back at Peeves. The projectile ended up going up Peeves' nose causing him to screech and fly away at top speed, much like the gum Remus removed from a lock back at Peeves in Harry's third year. The combination of Harry's quick movements and spell casting with Peeves' screeching caught everyone's attention and brought gales of laughter to the entrance hall.

"Blimey, Harry," exclaimed Neville, "I didn't even notice anything was going on until you cast your spell. You have got to teach me how you do that."

Many of the students around Harry were nodding their agreement with Neville's comment. "Well," said Harry, "We'll see what we can do about that. Let's just wait to see what the new Defense professor is like before we start making plans to train on our own, OK?"

Nodding in agreement, they continued toward the great hall for the start of term feast. Upon walking through the open double doors, Harry looked up to see the overcast sky in the enchanted ceiling of the great hall, matching the weather outside to perfection once again. The group bid farewell to Luna, who headed over to the Ravenclaw table, before finding themselves some seats at the Gryffindor table. Ginny saw some of her friends from her own year and headed down the table to sit with them, leaving Ron, Hermione, Neville, and a now empty-feeling Harry sitting alone at one end of the table. Harry had become used to having Ginny nearby at mealtimes and was now feeling somewhat empty with her sitting farther away.

The tables quickly filled with students chatting noisily about various topics. Ron was starting to complain about his stomach and wanting everyone to hurry up so they could start the feast. Harry was quickly tuning everything out. He was finding it difficult to concentrate, as his attention had been captured by the sound of laughter further down the table. This, combined with the glint of candlelight off of Ginny's red hair, was most entrancing. He couldn't help but watch her. He was finally realizing that he really cared about her a lot. She was beautiful in his eyes, especially in the dim light of the candles in the hall. Soon he had no knowledge of anything else going on. He was lost in his own little world, where he and Ginny were the only inhabitants. Time meant nothing, infact the next thing Harry knew he was being shaken out of his oblivion.

"Oy, wake up, mate." Ron was shaking Harry's shoulder. "You feeling alright?"

"What?" Harry was quickly remembering where he was, "Sorry, I was just thinking."

Ron just looked at this friend and shrugged, "Whatever. Hey, would you pass me the potatoes?"

Harry was surprised to see that the food had already magically appeared on the plates on the table, "Yeah, sure, here." He quickly realized that while he was musing he had missed the sorting all together. He filled his plate with food and began eating and joining in the conversations with his friends. Every now and then, though, he found his

attention wandering down the table to a certain redhead.

Soon the plates were all cleared away, and Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak. "Well, now that we have all had a chance to quell our rumbling stomachs," he began with a look toward Ron, "I beg a few more moments of your attention for some start of term notices. First of all, the Forbidden Forest is named that for a reason, so all first years should stay away from it, as should a few of our older students." The headmaster looked directly at Harry as he said that.

"Next, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to remind the students that magic is not to be performed in the hallways between classes and that the list of banned items has been expanded to include the entire line of products produced at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. For anyone who wishes to check the list personally, it is hanging on Mr. Filch's office door."

"Now, I would like to take this opportunity to announce some staffing changes. First, I would like to announce that Professor Trelawney will be returning as the Divination teacher while Professor Firenze has taken over the vacant post of Astronomy teacher." There was a round of polite applause, "And I would also like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Smith. Professor Smith will also be the faculty advisor to the defense group that was formed last year and run by Mr. Harry Potter. That defense group will be a sanctioned group this year and open to all years and houses. Seeing as how the Ministry is now admitting that Voldemort is truly back, I highly recommend that everyone seriously think about attending this group. The students who were part of this group last year all scored Outstanding on their OWLs or NEWTs. For more information, please see either Mr. Potter or Professor Smith."

"Lastly, Quidditch tryouts will be held the second week of term. Those interested in trying out for your house teams, please see Madam Hooch for more information. Now, I am afraid that the hour is late and it is time for bed."

Everyone in the great hall began standing and heading for their respective dormitories. Ginny and Colin Creevey, being the fifth year prefects for Gryffindor, were leading the first years up to the dorm. Harry told the others that he wanted to speak to Professor Smith for a moment before heading up, so they told him the password to the common room and then headed off. Harry made his way quickly to the head table and caught up to the professor before he had made his exit.

"Professor Smith, could I have a word with you for a moment?"

"Certainly, Mr. Potter," the professor replied. "What would you like to discuss?"

Harry was caught off guard for a moment by being addressed so formally, but quickly realized that he was supposedly meeting this professor for the first time so there had to be some formality in their interactions. "I was just wondering if we could discuss the particulars of the defense club. Since it seems that the headmaster has just informed the entire school about the club, I thought we should be on the same page about what's going to happen in it."

"Well, Mr. Potter, I think it would be best if you would meet me in my office before breakfast tomorrow and we could discuss it in depth there. Would 7:30 be too early for you?"

"No, Professor, that should be fine, sir. I'll see you then. Goodnight."

Harry made his way up to the seventh floor and soon found himself facing the portrait of the fat lady, which hid the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. After muttering the password, Fortitudo Macto, he entered and had some short discussions with the various students. After only a few minutes he made his way up to the sixth year boys' dorm which he shared with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean and found his bed. After a little more general conversation while they were all changing for bed, all five boys were soon falling asleep and preparing to truly start the new year.

Harry found himself waking quite easily the next morning. It seems that another benefit of his mental organizing was that if he told himself that he wanted to be up at a specific time his body would simply wake up at that time. He wasn't exactly happy to be up this early, but he knew that he wasn't going to have much choice in the matter. He remembered Professor Smith telling him earlier in the summer about how his physical training regimen was going to be much more extensive once he got to school. He figured that this would be something that would take place first thing in the mornings since that would be the least noticeable time of day to do something like that.

Harry quickly got ready for the day and headed off to the defense classroom to meet his professor. The classroom looked the same as it had in the previous years. Harry paused for a moment as he recalled his unfortunate dealings with Umbridge the previous year. He quickly shook those thoughts from his head and made his way over to the steps leading to the professor's office. He knocked and heard a somewhat spry "Enter" from the other side of the door and headed inside.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. I'm glad to see you made it on time. Please, come in and have a seat."

Harry nodded, "Good morning to you too, sir." The office looked much like it did in Harry's third year with Professor Lupin. The bookshelves were full of books and there were several containers around the room, some with various creatures in them and some looking like they would be filled later.

"Now, you said you wanted to discuss the particulars of the defense club," the professor began. "Exactly what questions do you have? I thought I made my expectations quite clear over the summer."

"Yes, sir, you did. I was just wondering when we should start having our meetings and where. Since Professor Dumbledore made the existence of the club known and open to everyone in the school, I wasn't sure how we would accomplish our goal of not teaching the Death-Eater wannabees."

Professor Smith was nodding, "Yes, it would seem that way, but he was also allowing you the chance to decide who exactly would be allowed in the group. You did notice that he told the students to speak to me or you about getting in didn't you?"

"Yes, but he made it seem like it was expected that anyone who wanted in could be in."

"Of course he did, because he had to. He knows of our plan and we do have his approval. I have a way of keeping out those who we do not want in. You don't need to be worried about that. To answer your question about when we should meet, I think that our first meeting should be this Friday in the great hall. That should give me plenty of time to let all of the students know why they should seriously look into joining this group."

Harry was looking perplexedly at his professor, "Why would we need to use the great hall for the first meeting? Do you really think we are going to have so many people that we couldn't just use a classroom? What are you planning to do, sir?"

"Mr. Potter, I believe that it will become quite clear after our first defense class why I think your club will be quite popular this year. You will just have to trust me on this. Don't worry, you won't have to wait long to find out what I'm planning. The sixth years are my first class today. Now, I also seem to remember telling you we would be raising the level of your physical training once we got here. I will hold off on that until next week to give you a chance to get used to being back in school before starting. I don't know about you but I am getting hungry, I think we should be on our way to breakfast."

Harry was extremely curious now but knew he would just have to wait until class to find his answers. He headed off to breakfast. His meeting hadn't been too long but when he got to the hall it was already quite full and there was a lot of somewhat excited conversation. Harry found all of his friends already eating and joined them.

"Where've you been, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I just had to speak with Professor Smith this morning about the DA."

There were a few more questions about the meeting, but Harry just told them they would have to wait to find out more. The conversations turned to other subjects and before long there was the familiar sound of the post owls making their morning deliveries. Hermione received her copy of the Daily Prophet and quickly opened it and began to read. Before long she was staring at the paper and softly muttering, "Oh my!"

"What is it this time?" Harry was only mildly interested, since he didn't put much stock in that publication any more.

Ron was looking over her shoulder and soon his eyes grew wide and exclaimed, "Bloody Hell! Did you really say that, Harry?"

"What am I being accused of now?" asked Harry as Hermione turned the paper around and laid it out on the table for everyone to see. Harry scanned the front page and his eyes grew as big as Ron's had.

_The Boy-Who-Lived throws support to Arthur Weasley for next Minister of Magic._

That was the headline at the top of the paper. The article went on to quote his conversation on platform 9 ¾ yesterday with the reporters. It mentioned how he also said he thought that Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory would be good as well, but that upon further questioning neither wanted to leave their present position. Apparently Mr. Weasley had been surprised by the question but would not rule out the possibility of running for the office if it seemed like a popular thought.

Needless to say, everyone at the table was extremely surprised by the article. Harry glanced up to the staff table to see Professor Dumbledore smiling back at him with the twinkle in his eyes going on overdrive. Looking around the hall, many of the students could be seen whispering to each other and shooting looks over at the Gryffindor table. Some people were smiling while others, most noticeably Slytherins, were scowling at the thought of the next Minister being a Weasley.

Soon, Professor McGonagall was walking along the table handing out schedules. When she got to Harry and his friends, she not only handed them their schedules but leaned close to Harry to speak with him. "Mr. Potter, the headmaster wishes to speak with you, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Granger after dinner this evening about your schedules. He has some suggestions he would like you to think about."

Harry and his friends shared a glance before nodding in agreement and allowing their Head of House to move on. They all began checking their schedules and comparing them. Harry noticed that they all mostly had the same schedule. Double Defense Against the Dark Arts Monday mornings, double Herbology on Wednesdays mornings, double Transfiguration on Thursday mornings, and double Charms on Friday mornings. Hermione and Harry both had double Potions on Tuesday mornings where Ron and Neville, who hadn't gotten the scores needed for Potions, had a free period. On Mondays and Thursdays after lunch, they all had Care of Magical Creatures. That was the extent of Harry's schedule where the other three had Astronomy on Wednesday nights after dinner. Hermione also had Arithmancy and Ancient Runes on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.

The most interesting thing the boys noticed about their schedules was the lack of classes. It seemed that there was a lot of empty space on Harry, Ron, and Neville's schedules. There was nothing in the afternoons except for Care of Magical Creatures. They continued to compare for a while then decided to head off to defense class.

Harry and company made their way to the defense classroom. Since the door was already open, they all went inside and took seats near the front. The class slowly started to fill up, and Harry began to notice that there were students from all four houses present. All of the sixth years were there from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The only Slytherins in attendance were Draco Malfoy, Millicent Bulstrode, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini.

Everyone took their seats and soon Professor Smith arrived and went directly to the front of the class. "Welcome, to NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts. You are all here because you performed sufficiently on your OWLs and chose to continue taking this class. This year, you will be learning higher level spells and how to properly perform them in a controlled environment, because that is what the Ministry requires. I will make sure that you can perform everything that I teach you in my class to the letter. What I will NOT be teaching you to do, however, is master the use of these spells in a real life situation, such as a duel."

There was an immediate explosion of protests from the class. Terry Boot from Ravenclaw asked, "How come you're not going to teach us to use them in a real life situation?"

Professor Smith looked stonily around the room, "Because, I am not required to." There were many shocked expressions around the room, which the professor decided to ignore before continuing. "You see, there are some students in this school who have shown themselves to be, shall we say, less trustworthy of knowledge than others. If I were to teach any one of you, I would have to teach all of you. Since that is the case, I choose to teach none of you." When he was finished, he was looking directly at Draco Malfoy.

There was another outburst. This time Padma Patil spoke up, "So just because you don't want to teach a few students to be better able to protect themselves, you won't teach any of us? How is that fair to the rest of us?"

Professor Smith brought his gaze back to the rest of the class, "Miss Patil, just because I refuse to teach you does NOT mean you won't have the chance to learn." There was a questioning silence in the air as he looked around and continued, "I believe that Professor Dumbledore made it clear last night that there is another opportunity for students to learn to defend themselves. Were you not paying attention when he spoke of the defense club? Anyone who is interested in learning how to defend themselves in a real life situation should meet in the great hall on Friday night after dinner for the first meeting of the defense club. At that point, the plan for future meetings and membership will be determined. Now if that is all of the questions, open your books to page…"

The class moved on with very little fanfare after that. All of the former DA members kept glancing at Harry throughout the class to see what he wanted to do. Once the class was over and the homework given out, Malfoy and the other Slytherins were the first to storm out of the room. Harry shared a quick and unnoticeable smile with the professor before heading off to lunch.

"So, that's his plan." Harry spoke as they were entering the great hall. "No wonder he thinks there are going to be a lot of students in the defense club. He's going to tell everyone in the school that he won't teach them practical use of their spells. Now we just have to figure out how to keep the 'less than trustworthy' students out of the club."

They were all discussing the events of the day so far, when a very disgruntled Ginny came up and sat with them. Hermione asked, "What's wrong Ginny?"

"Snape! I swear he's worse this year than ever. He was brutal. I'd be careful if I were you, Harry. I think he's out for blood this year."

"Well, Hermione and I don't have him until tomorrow so I guess we'll see then just how bad he is."

They continued chatting throughout lunch and soon found themselves making the trek to Hagrid's cabin for Care of Magical Creatures. Once again, Harry noticed that this class contained students from every house. It wasn't as full as the defense class but it was a complete cross section of the school. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were joined by Dean and Seamus from Gryffindor. There were only a couple of Ravenclaws, and Millicent Bulstrode was the only Slytherin. The Hufflepuffs were represented almost as well as the Gryffindors in numbers.

Once everyone was assembled, Hagrid's booming voice began, "Welcome to NEWT level Care o' Magical Creatures. Got some excitin' lessons planned fer ya this year." There was a barely audible groan from the majority of the students at this announcement; it was common knowledge that usually if Hagrid thought something was "exciting" that to anyone else it was terrifying. "Right then, before we get to the interestin stuff we'll be startin off with these." He motioned to a corner of the paddock beside his cabin where a small tree stood with a tear-shaped nest residing in the low branches. Inside the nest was a thin greenish bird that looked like a small underfed vulture. "Can anyone tell me what animal this is?" Hermione, as usual, was the first one with a hand in the air. "Go on, Hermione."

"That's an Augurey."

"Right you are! Five points to Gryffindor. Now what can you tell me 'bout Augureys?"

Hermione continued, "The Augurey is also known as the Irish Phoenix. It has a low throbbing cry that was once thought to foretell death, but in actuality it only sings at the approach of rain."

Hagrid smiled, "Another five points to Gryffindor."

The rest of class was spent learning about the strange bird and was quite a good lesson by Hagrid's standards. While the rest of the class began to break up and head back to the castle, Harry and his friends stayed to visit with Hagrid. They all sat in Hagrid's cabin for tea and some visiting, trying to figure out what other types of creatures they would be learning about this year. They also spent a short amount of time discussing their various summers. Neville was stunned to hear about what the others had been up to all summer. They assured him that they would do everything they could to bring him up to speed.

Soon, the rumbling of Ron's stomach informed the group that it was time to head back to the castle for dinner. They made their way back to the great hall and found their usual seats near the end of the table. Dinner was a relatively quiet affair and was over before long. Harry looked up to the head table to see Professor Dumbledore standing up and heading out of the hall. Harry looked at his friends and they all acknowledged him together and decided to make their way to the headmaster's office for their meeting.

They made their way up to the stone gargoyle that guards the headmaster's office and spoke the password, Canary Creams. The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped out of the way to reveal the moving staircase up to the office door. They rode the staircase up and before they had the chance to knock, heard the headmaster say "Enter" from inside the office. They all entered and took the offered seats across the desk from the headmaster.

Once they were settled, Professor Dumbledore began, "Thank you for coming. Lemon drop, anyone?" After everyone politely declined, he continued, "Well, let's get to the point, shall we? I called you four here to ask you if you would be willing to take a few more classes to fill up your schedules. Miss Granger, I know that you are taking more classes than the others, but I believe that you all would benefit from some extra lessons. I am only offering these lessons to the four of you because you have proven yourselves worthy of the extra training."

Seeing the questioning looks on the students' faces, the professor continued, "I believe that your adventure last June is proof that you are ready to learn some things that are not normally taught to students. I would like to suggest that all of you begin to spend Wednesday afternoons working with Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing learning about basic healing. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom, I would also like it if you two were to spend Tuesday mornings working with Alastor Moody on Strategy and Tactics. Then on Tuesday and Friday afternoons I would like to suggest that all three of you young men join me to learn some more advanced spells that you would be able to teach in your defense club meetings."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were mildly surprised by this conversation, while Neville was dumbfounded. Harry, seeing Neville's reaction, spoke up, "We told you we've had a busy summer, Neville." Looking back at the headmaster he continued, "Would this be a sort of continuation of this summer, sir?"

The twinkle was once again in Professor Dumbledore's eyes, "Yes, Mr. Potter, it would. I take it you have informed Mr. Longbottom about your summer?" Seeing his nod in agreement, the headmaster continued, "Have you enlightened Miss Lovegood as well, and have you or do you intend to explain everything about your summer to them?"

"I haven't yet, sir." Harry replied, "I do, however intend to fill them in completely. They deserve to know just as the others did. They did, after all, risk their lives to go with me and help. I owe it to them to keep them informed as well."

Neville looked confused while the headmaster simply nodded, "If you would like, I could ask Professor Flitwick to bring Miss Lovegood up here now so you would be able to inform her in the privacy of my office."

Harry thought about it for a moment, "I wasn't prepared to do it right now, but it is a good idea." He took a deep breath and decided, "Yes, please have Luna join us. Now is as good a time as any to explain."

Professor Dumbledore moved over to the fireplace, threw a handful of floo powder in, and then called Professor Flitwick. After a short conversation, he returned to his seat. "Miss Lovegood should be along shortly. While we are waiting, do any of you have any questions about my request?"

Hermione responded, "What types of things would we be learning, sir? You gave us some very broad subjects. Could you be a little more specific?"

"Well, Miss Granger, in basic healing you would be learning basic spells to detect what injuries a person may have sustained and how to stabilize and begin the healing process. The advanced spells would be both offensive and defensive in nature and some new ways to use to your advantage simple spells that you already know. The strategy and tactics would be learning about fighting in groups in a conflict. Alas, we are at war and as much as I do not want to admit it, you young people are going to need to know how to fight. I do not believe that it will be long before Voldemort brings this war to the doors of Hogwarts and when that happens the student body will need to know how to defend themselves and each other."

The mood in the room was very somber as the students pondered those last comments. "Do you really think he'll bring the fight here, sir?" Harry was unsure as he spoke, "Do you really think he'll try soon?"

"It would not surprise me if he were to try something at least in Hogsmeade by the end of next year. I believe that he is doing his best to recruit more followers and once he feels his forces are strong enough he will come. After all, the only two wizards whom he feels are standing in his way are both in this school. If he could get us out of the way, he is sure the rest of the world would soon follow." The twinkle was once again gone from the headmaster's eyes as he spoke.

There was then a knock at the door, "Ah, Miss Lovegood has arrived. Come in, Miss Lovegood. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"No thank you, Professor." Came the airy reply from the fifth year Ravenclaw.

"Very well. I suppose you are wondering why you have been summoned here this evening? Mr. Potter has something very important he would like to share with you and Mr. Longbottom. I must impress upon both of you that what you are about to hear needs to be kept in the utmost confidence. Can you both give me a wizard's oath that what you are about to witness will not be spoken of to any others?"

Neville and Luna both looked questioningly at the headmaster before nodding in agreement. "Excellent, would I be correct in assuming you would like the use of my pensive again Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, sir, that would be the easiest way to do this."

With that Professor Dumbledore stood up and retrieved his pensive from its cabinet. He set it down in the middle of his desk and gathered Neville and Luna close so they could see and hear the image clearly. Once the image of Professor Trelawney faded back into the pensive, Neville's face was pale and he couldn't bring himself to speak, while Luna seemed to lose her airy façade for a few moments.

Luna spoke first, "Was that the prophecy we got from the Ministry?"

"Yes, it was. That's why he tried to get me to go there. He had only been informed of the first part of the prophecy and he wanted to know the rest. Since the only people who can pick up a prophecy are the people it is about, either he or I had to get it. He tricked me into going there so that I could get it for him."

Neville finally found his voice, "That could have been about me too, couldn't it?"

"Yes, Neville, it could have." Harry replied, "Right up until the part where it said '_The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,'_ that's where it could only be me. I wanted you guys to know what it said since you risked your lives to help me. I figured you had a right to know." Harry gave them a few more moments to think before he continued, "If you don't want to be around me any more, I understand. I only ask that you remember your oath not to tell anyone about this."

"Harry," Neville answered, "I figure you're going to need all of the help you can get, and even if I'm not as skilled as you are, you're my friend and I won't let you do this alone."

"Harry, you can't expect to do this without your friends." Luna's airy voice was back, "We're with you until the end."

"Thanks." Harry felt as if another huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. With the help of his friends he felt he could take on the world.

"Very well," the twinkle was back in the aged headmaster's eyes, "The hour is getting late and you all have classes tomorrow, so I think it is time to be off to bed." With that they all left the headmaster's office and headed back to their respective dormitories and then off to bed.


	14. The Defense Club

Sorry about the delay in updating. I am almost to the end of what I like to refer to as the "necessary extra info", basically it's the various beginning of the year stuff that you get in every book. Within the next two chapters I will be able to start moving the story along at a faster pace and concentrate more on my vision for the rest of Harry's time at Hogwarts. Yes, I already have an outline begun for my version of year 7 and am finally at a point where I can really start evolving my story the way I have invisioned it from the beginning.

I would like to thank my reviewers for their kind words. You flatter me too much. It's one thing for my family to tell me they think I write well, but to hear it from people I don't even know floors me every time. If my high school writing teacher could see me now, she would probably have a stroke. It's hard to believe that I barely passed that class. It must have been because I didn't really have anything that excited me enough to write about passionately.

Thank you, J. K. Rowling for writing a wonderful story and finding a way to share it with the rest of the world and especially here on 14 - The Defense Club

Harry woke up Tuesday quite refreshed, considering all of the information he had to take in yesterday. Still marveling at the support that his friends are willing to give him even with the knowledge of what he must eventually do. He laid in bed thinking about the situation his life had become, until he heard his dorm mates beginning to stir. Once Ron and Neville got up, Harry decided to get ready himself so they could all head down for breakfast together. The boys met up with Hermione and Ginny in the common room and as a group they headed out.

The mood in the great hall continued to be upbeat as everyone was looking forward to the classes they hadn't had yet. Ron and Neville were a little more excited than Harry due to the fact that today Harry got to deal with Snape for the first time this year while Ron and Neville were going to be working with Moody. After putting it off as long as possible, Harry and Hermione finally finished their breakfast and made their way down to the dungeons for Double Potions.

The two Gryffindors did a double-take upon their arrival at the class, uncertain if they were indeed in the right room. There were fewer students in this class than any class Harry had had in all five of his previous years at Hogwarts. They were the only Gryffindors in the class. They were joined Terry Boot and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw along with Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, and Draco Malfoy from Slytherin. There was just one chair at each table, which indicated that there would be no working together this year. Harry and Hermione each chose a table near the back of the room in hopes of avoiding as much as possible the wrath of Professor Snape.

Professor Snape made his usual intimidating entrance as everyone was settling in. "Welcome to NEWT level Potions. Somehow you all have achieved good enough scores on your OWLS to continue with this course of study, meaning that you all should have a rudimentary understanding of the subtle art of potion brewing." He paused here for a moment to glare in Harry's direction before continuing with his trademark sneer, "You will find that this class moves along at a substantially quicker pace than the previous years. Some of you will probably not be able to keep up. I assure you that those who can not keep up will find themselves with a free period instead of continuing to waste my time. Each time we meet I will be giving you a list of ingredients and directions for brewing an unspecified potion. Once you've made the potion it will be your responsibility to figure out which potion we made and what its uses and effects are."

All through the professor's opening speech, Harry sat stonily silent and still. He was bound and determined not to give his least favorite teacher any reason to remove him from the class and ruin his chances to become an Auror. He was concentrating on reinforcing his occlumency walls to block his usual emotional responses to the digs that he had become accustomed to receiving from Snape. Soon the potion they were to be working on today was on the board and silence fell upon the classroom as the students began the process of brewing potions.

The class was half over before Snape began to move among the tables checking on the progress of his students. Harry, although he was concentrating on his own potion quite diligently, was keeping track of the progress of his teacher around the room. He was not about to allow this man to sneak up on him and push him to distraction. Before long, Harry could sense the close scrutinizing gaze of his greasy haired potions master over his shoulder.

"I don't know how you managed to achieve a score high enough to make it into this class, Potter," the professor hissed, "but rest assured that I will not hesitate to remove you if you can't keep up. You are so much like your father. He often found himself getting special treatment too, just because he was good on a broom." Professor Snape continued with his attack for several minutes. After finding himself frustrated by not seeming to be able to get under Harry's skin he moved on to try to terrorize another student.

The class continued on without any noticeable interruptions, and by the end Professor Snape was obviously perturbed about something. "If you have brewed your potions correctly, they should be ready for bottling by now. Prepare a flagon as a sample of your work and bring it up to me. Your homework is three feet of parchment on what potion you just brewed, its qualities, and its possible uses and side effects, due next class."

The students began to fill their sample flagons and bring them up to the front. Harry, having a bad feeling about the situation, decided to give his potion a little more protection. He quickly pulled out his wand and cast an unbreakable charm on the flagon before taking it up to hand in. Once he was headed back to his desk, his bad feeling was confirmed by a loud 'clunk' behind him. He turned around to see a startled professor looking at his unbroken potion sample rolling harmlessly on the floor.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I use very sturdy flagons for my potions," Harry commented as he retrieved his potion off of the floor. "Sometimes I'm not as careful as I should be. I must not have placed my potion securely on your desk, sir." Harry was doing his best to keep from smirking at Snape as he spoke. He was happy that he prevented his teacher from destroying his sample.

Snape's eyes narrowed as he replied, "Yes, that is a good thing, but ten points from Gryffindor for your clumsiness nonetheless, Mr. Potter."

Harry showed no emotion as he returned to his table to clean up his stuff in silence. He could tell that the rest of the class was staring at him amazed that he hadn't blown up at Snape, let alone shown any emotion at all. They had all heard the taunts the greasy git had directed at Harry earlier and saw him push the potion off of the edge of his desk. They were also pretty sure that Harry knew it wasn't his fault or an accident either.

Once they were outside the classroom, Hermione spoke up, "Harry, I'm impressed with your ability to control your temper. I can't believe how vindictive he's being toward you this year. Everyone in the class heard and saw what happened in there. If you were to go to Professor Dumbledore and complain, I'm sure everyone except the Slytherins would back you up."

"Hermione," Harry replied, "I appreciate your concern, but I won't give him the satisfaction of feeling like he got the better of me. This is something that's between him and me. I will let him be however he wants and let him figure out that he needs to grow up and stop hating me for something my father did." They walked in silence for a moment before he got a grin and continued, "Besides, you forget I have a pensive that I can store these memories in to collect and show to the headmaster later if the greasy git doesn't let up."

Hermione shook her head in amusement causing Harry to laugh as they entered the great hall for lunch. Ron and Neville, who were already seated at the table, looked up as they heard the laughter.

"What so funny, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Yeah," Ron added, "What happened? Did Snape make you guys take some kind of laughing potion or something?" Once they were all seated, Harry began to fill them in on what happened in potions and laughed at the astonished looks on their faces as well. No matter how much time they spent around Harry, they still found themselves speechless at some of the changes he had made over the summer.

Soon it was apparent that the news of what had happened in the dungeons was traveling quickly around the school, as students at the other tables began to look over at Harry and his friends. At every table, there were looks of astonishment as students realized that something about Harry had changed over the summer. They all knew that the old Harry would have virtually exploded in anger at the actions of Professor Snape. These reactions even carried up to the head table, where all but two people were showing looks of surprise at Harry's control. Professor Smith simply smiled while Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling on overdrive.

After lunch, Hermione was off to Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, while Harry, Ron, and Neville headed off to the Room of Requirements, which was where they were having all of their special classes except healing, to meet Professor Dumbledore. They arrived to find the room was arranged in two parts. One side of the room was similar to a library with a couple of chairs around a single desk with a book shelf against the wall. The other side of the room was a large open area to practice the spells they would be learning.

They were informed that they would be spending the first half of the class learning the theory behind the spells, and the second half practicing them. This was some of the most advanced magic they had been exposed too and it didn't surprise them that it was stuff they wouldn't normally cover in school. Dumbledore was teaching them spells taught at the Auror academy. Harry and Ron were quicker to pick up the spells than Neville due to the work that they had put in over the summer. What really surprised everyone was the fact that Neville didn't take nearly as long to get a spell as he used to. It was clear that it made a difference for him to finally have his own wand.

Before they knew it, it was time to return to the great hall for dinner, where Harry and his friends excitedly began to discuss what had gone on in the special classes. Harry asked Ginny to see if Luna would be available on Thursday night for a catch-up session with the rest of them, since she'd be seeing Luna at Astronomy class later that night.

After dinner, Harry and company went up to the common room to work on homework and relax. By this time, the 6th, 7th, 1st, and 4th year Gryffindor's had all had their first defense class and were pressing Harry for information about his extra class. The other years were also getting information about the defense group and soon the entire house was letting Harry know they would be interested in joining the group. Harry was starting to wonder if he was going to be getting the same response from the rest of the houses.

The rest of the week transpired much the same. Professors Sprout, McGonagall, and Flitwick all gave the same speech about this being the beginning of their most important years at Hogwarts as the amount of information they would be learning was going to be increasing beyond anything in years past. The healing class on Wednesday was quite informative and they all were able to successfully perform some basic healing charms for minor cuts and bruises.

Neville and Luna were excited about the opportunity to study with Harry on Thursday evening. Since they were expecting to learn to do physical things such as dueling, they were surprised to hear that they wouldn't need their wands for this lesson. At first they were taken aback to find that they would be focusing on the basics of meditation and mind organization, but when Harry told them it would make it easier for them to pick up the spells that Dumbledore was teaching they were willing to give it a go. By the end of the two-hour class both Neville and Luna had been able to relax enough to begin the process of organizing their memories. They agreed to continue the classes a couple of times a week.

By Friday night there was an expectant buzz around the castle, everyone was talking excitedly about Harry's class that night and Harry was starting to feel somewhat apprehensive. He had had another meeting with Professor Smith that morning about how they were going to keep the 'less than trustworthy' students out of the class. Harry was impressed with the professor's idea and thought it would work but he was still apprehensive just the same.

As dinner finished that night, the only people who rose to leave the hall were the teachers. All, that is, except for Professor Smith. As Professor Dumbledore got up to leave, he made an announcement. "As I'm sure you are all aware, the first meeting of the defense group is planned for this evening in this room. I believe that now would be as good a time as any to begin this session. As I said before, this group is under the direction of Mr. Harry Potter and his faculty advisor is Professor Smith. Any questions about this will be addressed by them. So without further ado, Mr. Potter, the floor is yours." And with that he bowed and made his way out of the hall.

All eyes in the room turned to Harry as he made his way to the front of the hall. Once there he surveyed the room for a moment while bringing his emotions under control. He had been nervous last year when he was only teaching a small group of people. Now the entire school had turned out to learn from him. As far as he could tell, every person from every house was here, even the children of the Death-Eaters. Harry took a quick look over at Professor Smith, who gave a kind smile and a nod to go ahead, then turned back to the assembled students and began.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the defense club. I am going to assume that you are all here to learn how to better defend yourselves in a real fight. Some of you might be a little skeptical about learning from me, and I don't blame you one bit. Some of you are probably wondering what I can teach you that your professors can't. The answer to that is: Nothing." Muttering broke out all over the hall, "Everything that you will learn from me is something that you _could_ learn from the teachers here…IF, they were to decide to teach it to you."

Just then a drawling voice called out from the side of the room, "If you're going to teach us things that they could teach us, then why don't they just teach us?"

Harry gave a soft chuckle and shook his head, "Do you ever actually listen to what the teachers here say, Malfoy? I distinctly remember Professor Smith telling you that the teachers are bound by the rules of the school. If they teach something to one person in class, they have to teach it to every student in class. This group since it isn't a class and is not taught by a teacher doesn't apply to those rules. I don't have to teach something to someone if I don't want to."

"So," replied Malfoy, "What are you going to teach us then?"

Harry started to smile quite widely, "Well first of all, I very seriously doubt that I will be teaching _you _anything, Malfoy. I seriously doubt you will ever attend one of my meetings ever again."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Why is that?"

"I'm glad you asked. You see, last year this group was created so we could actually learn to defend ourselves, since the ministry didn't think we should. Now, the ministry feels that we should learn how to defend ourselves, and I agree. The question is, what are we trying to defend ourselves from?"

Harry looked around the hall expectantly. It wasn't long before a voice from the back said, "You-Know-Who."

Harry looked to where the voice came from, "Who?"

The voice, belonging to a young Hufflepuff, spoke again, "You-Know-Who."

"No, I don't know who. Who are you talking about?"

The Hufflepuff responded with a slight stutter, "Th-The D-Dark Lord."

"Who is this Dark Lord? I mean what-is-his's-name" Harry's pointed question was followed by complete silence. Harry looked around expectantly. When he got no response, he looked to his friends at the Gryffindor table, "Neville, who are we trying to defend ourselves from?"

Every face in the hall turned to look at Neville. Neville visibly swallowed and took a deep breath before responding in as strong a voice as he could muster, "VOLDEMORT!"

There was a collective gasp from the students assembled in the hall. Many people gasped just because he said the name, while many more because it was Neville, who was never known to be very brave at all let alone brave enough to say his name. Harry smiled one of the biggest smiles he had ever smiled before. "Exactly! Ron, who are we fighting against?"

"V-V-VOLDEMORT!"

"Yes! Hermione?"

"VOLDEMORT!"

"Ginny?"

"We're fighting against VOLDEMORT, Harry!"

"That's right! We are fighting against VOLDEMORT! A very wise person once told me, 'Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself.' In this group, we WILL refer to him BY NAME. No more of this He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named nonsense. He MUST-BE-NAMED if we plan on actually being able to fight against him, and believe me when I say that I do plan to fight against him. Voldemort has been trying to kill me since I was only a year old and has taken just about everything I care about away from me. I have had enough, and I am going to do whatever I can to make sure he loses."

"Now, that brings me back to your question, Malfoy. You see, I'm pretty sure that you would rather fight on his side than against him, and I refuse to teach someone who will be using the knowledge I give them to fight against me."

Malfoy responded, "So just because you don't like me and my family, you think I want to follow him?"

"Are you saying that you don't want to follow Voldemort?" Harry waited patiently for an answer while the hall remained silent again. "Because, all you have to do to be in this group is prove that you will not use the training I provide to fight against me."

"And how, exactly, would I prove that I would not fight against you?"

Harry looked to Professor Smith with a knowing smile, "Professor, would you be kind enough to explain?"

Professor Smith rose and held up a piece of parchment, "Everyone who wants to be a part of this group has to sign a Wizard's Oath." There were more gasps in the hall, "Yes, a Wizard's Oath, a binding magical contract. If you sign this Oath, then you can be in the group, however it is very important to remember if you break the Oath, you will loose your magic."

Professor Smith turned to Harry, who picked up where the professor left off. "I am taking this war very seriously. This Wizard's Oath states that you will agree not to fight on Voldemort's side. You don't necessarily have to fight against him but you can NOT join him. You don't have to decide right now. You may take a parchment with you to think about it and get back to me later, after you've had a chance to think about this. So long as you have signed a copy of the Oath, I will gladly teach you no matter what house you are in, or what year you are. If you refuse to sign, then you should expect to look elsewhere for your real life lessons."

Harry and Professor Smith then each took a parchment and signed it in front of everyone. Once they signed, the parchments glowed with a bright white light for a moment before placing themselves in a nearby file box. Harry then looked back to the assembled students and motioned for them to retrieve a parchment for themselves. Neville, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Luna immediately came forward and signed their own copies of the parchment. They were quickly followed by the most of the returning members of the DA from last year along with a few other students. Malfoy and his goons were quick to storm out of the hall followed by many of the rest of the older Slytherins. The younger years were somewhat worried about doing this. They wanted to learn to protect themselves but weren't sure if they were ready to sign an Oath to learn it.

Many students came up to get a parchment only to say that they wanted to think about it before signing and would give their answer at a later date. Soon the only people left in the hall, were the ones who had signed and a small group of ten Slytherins who were all eyeing each other warily. Finally, Blaise Zabini made his way over to Harry slowly never taking his eyes off of him as if he were sizing him up.

"Potter, were you serious about teaching us no matter what house were in?"

"Yes. If you are against Voldemort, even if you're not with us, I have no problem teaching you. I assume you're worried that I will hold your house against you?" Seeing Blaise's nod, Harry continued, "Mr. Zabini, there are more important things in this world than hating somebody because of their house. If I were to do that, I would be no better than Voldemort. I don't believe that there is anybody in this school that only possesses the qualities of one house. Hermione, for instance, is very intelligent and would probably have fit in Ravenclaw as well as Gryffindor. Ron's loyalty could rival that of any Hufflepuff. Luna showed an incredible amount of Gryffindor bravery when she accompanied me to the Ministry of Magic last June. Ginny and her twin brothers show a cunningness that would rival many Slytherins in the pranks they like to pull on others. You are showing a great deal of courage yourself in simply being here and talking to me about this right now. I hold nothing against the house of Slytherin at all, only against some of the members of that house. If you are interested in joining, sign the Oath and you are in. Like I said, you don't have to decide now. Feel free to take some time to think about it. I will hold no ill will toward you whatsoever if you decide not to. You have never done anything to me and I don't get the impression that you are going to start now."

"You're right, about our house. Not everyone in Slytherin is a Death-Eater wannabe, or even agrees with what V-V-Voldemort does, but it is very dangerous for us to show that just the same. If we were to join, could our being part of it be kept a secret so we wouldn't have to live in fear in our own house?"

"Yes. I won't tell you any more until you sign, though I can assure you that your participation in the group will be kept in the strictest confidence."

Blaise stood there contemplating for a moment before he took a parchment and a quill and signed. Once he finished, he motioned for the rest of the Slytherins to follow his lead, and much to the surprise of everyone present, they all did. The group consisted of mostly younger years with Blaise and Millicent Bulstrode being the only sixth years. There was one fifth year named Daphne Greengrass and the rest of the group consisted of first, second, and third years that had not had the chance to be corrupted by Malfoy yet.

Harry looked over the group of almost seventy students with interest. The members of the DA and Gryffindor house were no surprise, but the number of other students, especially the Slytherins, was. "All right then," he started, "Welcome, to the new defense club. The first thing I think I need to do is to finish answering Mr. Zabini's question. Last year, our club met in a room called the Room of Requirements. It was hidden well but isn't much of a secret anymore. In order to keep the contents of our meetings a secret this year, it was decided that we move to a new location which is even more secret. We have been allowed to use a rather old and out-of-use area of the castle that at this point is known only to me."

There was an outburst of muttering and confused looks which was interrupted by a question from Millicent Bulstrode. "If it's in the castle, how can you be the only person who knows about it?"

Harry smiled and continued, "A very good question, Miss Bulstrode, for which I have a very good answer. The corridor in question is under the Fidelius Charm, and I am the only one who knows about it because I am the secret keeper."

"You can cast a Fidelius?" Asked a very disbelieving Blaise.

"No, I can't, but Professor Dumbledore can. He cast it for me and made me the secret keeper." Harry replied to the question quickly and returned to his explanation. "Over the course of the next week, I will personally show each of you where it is so you will all know, and since I am the secret keeper we know that the only people who will be in that area of the castle will be people who have earned my trust."

Blaise still wasn't sure, "Don't you think it will be a little suspicious if any of us are seen wandering about the castle with you? I know for a fact that if any of us from Slytherin are seen with you we'll be found out for sure."

"First of all," Harry countered quickly, "no one will be seen wandering about the castle since the entrance to the corridor in question is located in the library. Secondly, no one will _see _me anywhere around you."

Blaise snorted in confusion, "How are you planning to show us this secret corridor without being seen with us?"

"I have my ways," Harry said mysteriously then continued. "Now, since we have students from every year in this group we're going to have separate meetings. The first through third years will meet on Monday nights and the rest of the years will meet on Friday nights. If I feel that any of the younger years are advanced enough to join the older years then I will let them know."

"This weekend, except during mealtimes and the Gryffindor quidditch tryouts, I will be spending all of my time in the library. Whenever I see one of you in the library, and am sure that it is safe, I will be letting you know where the secret corridor is and how to find it. I suggest that you do your best to make sure that you visit the library sometime this weekend."

Millicent was confused now, "Won't it still be a little obvious, I mean it would be natural for Granger to be spending that much time in the library, but not you. I don't think anyone has ever seen you spend any substantial amount of time in the library."

Harry continued to smile, "Yes, I suppose it would be somewhat obvious that something was not right if I were to be _seen _spending all of my spare time in the library. That is why I won't be _seen_. Yes, I will be there, but people will think I am simply in my common room. The Gryffindors won't say otherwise, so the only people who are going to know I am in the library are the people in this room. And before you ask again, I have my ways of not being seen. Now, I think it's time to let everyone be on their way or it will be quite obvious who is part of the group. I'll see you all sometime this weekend."


	15. Time For Training

Well, JK's sixth year is out and I'd just like to say that as much as I liked the book as a book, I had some real issues with the direction she took the story in. I don't know if it was because of all of the fanfics I've read or the one I am writing, but I was expecting her to go in a different direction. At least I don't have to worry about her story causing me to want to change anything about mine.

My reviewers; Nathalie-z and Harryp123 thank you for your kind words.

HermioneGreen, good catch on the Daphne Greengrass mess up. I had been trying to double check my facts with the books and remembered Daphne's name being mentioned but couldn't for the life of me remember where. When I double checked my information with the character list on it simply referred to her as a student in Slytherin. It wasn't until I checked out the character list at the HP Lexicon sight that I found the reference putting her in Harry's year. Since this is now an AU fic, I am going to leave her as a year behind Harry. My bad.

Bobmin356, I have my reasons for dragging out the Harry/Ginny thing. Harry may have become surer of himself in his abilities, but his intrapersonal communication and relationships still need a lot of work.

Jack-A-Roe, You bring up a very good set of points. Getting Fudge and Umbridge out of office was something I really wanted to get done during the summer and I already had a lot of stuff happening before school started, so that is how I dealt with it. I do agree with you in that everything seems to be coming too easily for Harry. The only thing I can really say on behalf of that is I do know where this story is going in the end and there will be some incredible things happening to Harry before the final battle. Please bear with me and see where we go.

**Chapter 15 – Time For Training **

Harry woke up Saturday morning with a sense of anticipation. Soon he would have the opportunity to do something he had been denied for almost a year. Quidditch tryouts were scheduled for right after breakfast, so he only had to make it through one meal today before he could return to where he felt most at ease: flying on his Firebolt.

He was the first person in the room to be up and dressed. He grabbed his broom and was on his way out of the dorm before any of the other occupants had even begun to stir. He didn't even wait in the common room for any of his friends before heading down for breakfast.

In the great hall, he found himself to be one of the first inhabitants of the castle to be there, the only others present were Professors Dumbledore and Smith. Harry ate quickly hoping to get a chance to fly for a little while before the tryouts began. Not many other people had entered the hall before he had finished and was on his way out to the pitch. The closer he got the happier he became until he felt like he was simply going to burst if he wasn't in the air soon.

No sooner had he set foot within the confines of the stands when he mounted his broom and was off like a shot. He was in heaven, feeling more at peace and free than he had in a long time. This was where he felt most at home, the wind and scenery rushing past in a howl and blur. He made a few laps around the pitch and then began to pretend he was chasing the snitch. He was weaving through the goal posts, doing loops, and dives. Never once thinking about what he was doing, it was all simply natural.

He didn't know how long he'd been flying and quite frankly didn't care. He had lost all track of time, but was brought out of his bliss when he began to feel like he was being watched. He slowed and looked around to find a group of people gathered on the ground holding brooms watching him. The most noticeable of the group were the two individuals at the front with bright red hair. Apparently, it was time for the tryouts.

Harry flew down to join the assembled crowd looking happier than he had in years. He landed quickly and joined his returning teammates in the front of the group. Aside from Ron and Harry, Katie Bell, the seventh year chaser, and beaters Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper, both fourth years, were the other returning members of the team. Chasers Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet had both graduated.

Although she had been on the team the previous year, Ginny was standing with the rest of the hopefuls, as she was trying out for a new position now that Harry was back. There were a number of students whom Harry vaguely recognized, as well as some whose presence surprised him. Neville was here, along with the Creevey brothers and Seamus, and Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper were trying out again after losing out to Ron for the keeper position last year.

"Glad you could join us, Mr. Potter." Ron spoke quite loudly and with an air of authority, as if he was trying to prove his worthiness of receiving the honor of being captain. "Now that all of the existing members of the team are here, we can get this tryout started. As you can see, we need two more chasers. The first request I have is that anyone who is not willing to put this team before all other extracurricular activities, except the defense club, leave now. If we want to keep that Quidditch cup in McGonagall's office, we need a team that is determined to do whatever it takes to win."

Ron looked around waiting for everyone there to decide exactly how important this was. A few people, led by Vicky, took Ron up on his request and went back up to the school. Ron then continued, "OK, the first thing I want is to see how everyone here flies so mount your brooms and follow Harry around the pitch." Ron turned to Harry, "Harry, do a couple of easy warm up laps and then make them work to keep up." He then turned back to the group of hopefuls, "If you can't keep up, just break off and land back here and we'll decide who gets to move on to the next task then."

"Aye, Aye, Captain," Harry answered with a snappy salute and a mischievous grin. There was soon a procession of about twenty Gryffindor's on brooms trying to keep up with Harry. Some were quite good flyers, while many were obviously outside of their comfort level. After the warm-up laps, the hopefuls were divided into three groups. The ones who were marginal flyers, which included Neville and Colin, couldn't keep up with Harry in any way even though he wasn't going all out on his Firebolt. Of the ones that could be termed good fliers only half of them could continue to keep up with Harry's movements around the pitch. The ones in the other half began to fall out of the procession one by one. Soon, there were only five bodies still trying to play follow the leader.

"All right, Harry, that's enough." Ron shouted, "Bring them back down here."

Harry, who was at the far end of the pitch, turned and shot into a dive at full speed, leaving the hopefuls in his wake. Upon landing he took his place next to Ron again and waited for the others to land as well. Ginny was the first back, followed closely by a third year named Natalie McDonald. Dennis Creevey and a fourth year Harry didn't recognize brought up the rear.

The group of marginal fliers had already been dismissed so Ron addressed the rest, "Right then, now if flying were the only thing to judge by this group would already be a lot smaller. But just because not all of you could keep up with Harry doesn't mean you don't have any talent for playing quidditch. Then again, just because you could keep up doesn't mean you do have the necessary talent either. Now I think it's time to go up and toss the quaffle around for a bit and see who else we can eliminate." Ron turned to look at Katie, "Katie, would you please start getting the group used to passing around the quaffle?"

Katie who was now following Harry's lead answered with a snappy salute of her own, "Aye, Aye, Captain."

Katie started them out in a circle, having been trimmed down to a total of nine hopefuls, passing the quaffle back and forth. Several of them had trouble just catching the ball and staying on their brooms. The ones who couldn't at least catch it after a few tries were immediately dismissed and soon the only ones left were the original four who could somewhat keep up with Harry. With the smaller group, Katie began to get them moving around while passing to test their ability to fly and pass at the same time. This was the point where the fourth year couldn't keep up.

Ron, Harry, Andrew, and Jack all joined the rest in the air. "Right then, Harry and I are each going to play keeper. Ginny, Natalie, and Dennis will be Harry's chasers while Katie, Jack, and Andrew will be mine. Let's have a little game and see how everyone does."

They all nodded and soon the game was under way. Katie took turns working against each hopeful, trying to expose any weaknesses they might have. Since she was the only experienced chaser they had she was the only one there to judge their abilities against. Ginny was showing the most promise, but deciding between Natalie and Dennis was rather difficult. Ginny was the only one who had actually been able to score a goal. Harry hadn't been scored on only because Katie, being the only actual chaser against him, couldn't break away from his three chasers.

"OK, time for the final test," Ron called out, "Jack, Andrew, get your bats and one bludger. Let's see how these three do under fire." Jack and Andrew nodded and flew down to the ground and soon were back in the air with a bludger on the loose. Harry and Ron had now joined Katie as opposing chasers with the rule of no trying to score goals. They would just move back and forth on the pitch trying to pass to their teammates while not getting hit by a bludger. The introduction of the bludger proved to be Dennis's undoing. It didn't knock him off his broom but it obviously worried him enough that it threw him off his game.

Fifteen minutes later all eight Gryffindors landed on the pitch. After having Jack wrestle the bludger back into the ball chest, Ron called the team together. "You all did really well today, but as I said earlier, there are only two spots available, so I am going to have to tell one of you your out. If you three could wait over by the stands for a minute, I am going to talk with the rest of the team so we can come to a group decision."

Before Ron could continue, Dennis spoke up, "Ron, if it's all the same to you, I don't think there is much to discuss. Once that bludger came out, it was clear that I wasn't in the same league with these two. I think the choice is pretty obvious. If we want Gryffindor to keep the cup, Ginny and Natalie are the right choices for the team."

Ron looked at Dennis and then to the rest of the team, everyone nodding their approval in turn. He looked back to the hopefuls, "That was a very mature gesture on your part Dennis. I think I can safely speak for the rest of the team when I say that you did do very well until we brought out the bludger. If no one has any objections then, let me be the first to say congratulations to Ginny and Natalie. Welcome to the Gryffindor quidditch team."

Ginny grinned widely while Natalie squealed with glee and jumped around excitedly. Dennis congratulated both girls and made his way back up to the castle. Each of the returning team members gave their welcome greetings to their new teammates, then Ron told everyone that they would be having practices on Sunday afternoons since the weekend was the only time there were no other schedule conflicts. They wouldn't have their first practice until the next weekend due to Harry's previous commitment this weekend.

Talking about Harry's commitment caused the team to decide it was time to put that part of the defense club plan into action. They headed back to the castle, making sure to be seen by other students heading back to their common room. They made it back to Gryffindor tower and prepared to execute the first stage of the plan. Harry ran up to his dormitory to change out of his quidditch robes and grab his invisibility cloak and the marauders map.

The plan was that Hermione was going to head to the library "alone" first claiming to have to do some research for Ancient Runes. She was going to seem alone because Harry would be heading to the library under his invisibility cloak and he needed to have someone going out of the portrait hole at the same time as him to keep up the appearance of him remaining in the tower. Ginny would be the one helping him get out of the common room after lunch and then Neville and Ron after dinner. The same pairings would apply again on Sunday for each meal.

They entered the library and Hermione made her way over to an out of the way table near the back of the room slightly hidden by the bookshelves. While she was creating the impression of studying, Harry was checking his map to see if it was safe to begin showing the secret rooms to the other students. The table that Hermione chose to sit at was also quite strategic because the entrance to the secret corridor was hidden at the end of that particular row of shelves.

After a few minutes of checking, Harry decided that the coast was clear enough to show Hermione then allow her to act as a lookout for the rest. Harry led her down to the end of the row and then produced a piece of parchment from beneath his cloak. It read: "_The entrance to the defense club's secret corridor is between the M and N bookshelves in the Transfiguration section of the Library."_ Upon reading the note and thinking about it, the two bookshelves moved apart revealing an average wooden door. They entered to find a very large open square room with high ceilings, hardly any furniture, and one door in the middle of each wall except the one on the opposite side from which they entered which simply had two suits of armor standing together in the center of it.

"Harry, this is perfect! Although we could probably use some cushions and other objects to practice with."

"Well, Hermione, it just so happens that behind that door," he said pointing to the door in the wall to their right, "there are a lot of cushions to use to soften a persons fall when practicing thins like stunning. Then behind that door," he said pointing to the door in the wall to their left, "are lots of boxes of various items to practice things like levitating and transfiguring."

"Oh, well, I guess you have thought of everything," responded Hermione sheepishly.

"There is one more thing that is only for a select few of us to know about." As Harry spoke he pulled out one more piece of parchment that read: "_The headquarters of the Defense Club is between the two suits of armor in the Defense Club meeting room."_ Once again as soon as Hermione thought about this statement, the two suits of armor spread apart and a door appeared between them. The door lead to a smaller room with several arm chairs and love seats set in a circle facing each other around a small coffee table to their right. On the left side of the room was a work table and shelves with many different jars of ingredients and cauldrons for potion brewing.

"This gives the Ministry group a place to work together in private without having to worry about being discovered by the others," explained Harry. "And it will be a good place in which to make the animagus potion for Luna and Neville if they want to have a go at it." Harry was quiet for a moment. "Hermione, this won't be for just anyone to know about. There are some secrets that I do not intend to share with everyone."

"Harry, I have to say, I'm very impressed with how much thought you've put into this. Now, as much as I'd like to continue exploring this group of rooms, I should probably get back out to my post so we can start showing this to the others." Harry nodded and they went back over to the entrance door where Harry checked his map and recovered himself in his cloak, before going back into the library to wait for the rest of the students.

Many of the Gryffindors made their way to the library over the next couple of hours until lunch. After lunch, Harry and Ginny had a very similar conversation as Harry had had with Hermione earlier. Once Ginny was "studying" at the table, Harry was once again waiting for the other members of the club to make their way to the library. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs began to come in small groups that Harry would bring in together. By the time dinner rolled around, about two thirds of the Defense Club participants had made it up but none of them were Slytherins. After dinner it was Ron's and Neville's turn to "study". Not too many of the members made it up before curfew though so it looked like they would have to spend a good portion of the next day up there again.

On Sunday, Harry wasn't up quite as early as the day before. He wasn't really looking forward to spending the entire day in the library again. Harry, Ron, and Neville met Hermione and Ginny in the common room and they all went down to breakfast together. Once in the great hall, they could see some of the members of the defense club who had seen the rooms talking excitedly to the ones who hadn't. Harry knew they weren't telling them anything about the whereabouts of the room, since as the secret keeper he was the only one who could, but that didn't keep him from feeling insecure about what they were talking about and how much the people around them could overhear. What worried him most were the people near the Slytherin table and in particular, Draco Malfoy. Although, Malfoy seemed to be deep in his own conversation with his cronies.

The rest of the day transpired much the same way as the day before. Luna managed to make her way up before lunch and got the full tour that the rest of the ministry crew got and even seemed to get excited about trying to become an animagus. It wasn't until after lunch that the first of the Slytherins began to arrive.

Blaise and Millicent were the first to arrive. Harry feeling the need to be extra cautious with the Slytherins waited a little longer than he had with the rest of the students before making his presence known. Once Harry was sure that no one would notice their disappearance, he made his move. He walked up to stand between the two Slytherins at their table and proceeded to drop a small note in each of their open books. To say the two were startled was an understatement. Millicent nearly screamed when the parchment just appeared out of nowhere. However once they read the notes their shock turned to curiosity. They cautiously took the notes with them over to where Ginny was studying where she nonchalantly pointed them down the row of bookshelves to the general vicinity of Harry. Once they were standing in front of sections M and N, Harry made his note about the secret room appear in front of their faces. They both read the note and then looked at the shelves and then each other in confusion.

"Think about what you just read," whispered the bodiless voice of Harry who by now was trying very hard not to break out laughing at the two.

They thought and then looked back at the shelves. When the door appeared, Millicent once again had to fight back a shriek in surprise. Once inside, Harry removed his cloak and began to give them the standard tour.

"Never experienced something under the Fidelius before have you Millicent?"

Once again she jumped at the sudden appearance of Harry out of nowhere, "No, I haven't. Will it always be like that? Not there until I think about the fact that it should be there?"

Harry nodded while Blaise asked, "I didn't know you had an invisibility cloak, Potter. That must come in quite handy from time to time."

Harry smiled in return, "It just might at that." Then he got serious, "You are the first members of your house to come up. I was starting to wonder if there was some kind of problem. Do Malfoy and his goon squad have any idea that some of your house are in the group?"

"I think he suspects so, but he isn't entirely sure who. Having the meeting place be in the library is a good idea because it will remain difficult to tell who is in the group. He also doesn't pay much attention to the younger years, so those beginning to go to the library on a regular basis could go unnoticed. Daphne, Millicent, and I already have a reputation for spending a fair amount of time up here studying, so that shouldn't seem any different."

"As long as you don't come up in a large group," continued Harry, "there should never be a problem. A few friends going to the library is much less noticeable than a large group. The important thing is to make sure that no one is following you as you head to the meeting rooms. If there is, just make sure you sit at a table and look like you are studying until they go away."

"You know, Potter, we Slytherins already understand the necessity of secrecy in our actions. We don't need a Gryffindor to tell us how to go about our business unnoticed." Blaise smiled as he said this, "I do wonder what exactly you can teach us in this group, though. There never seemed to be that much special about you in our classes for the last five years. What happened over the summer that made you the best person to teach the rest of us how to defend ourselves better?"

Harry pondered the young man in front of him for a moment, "I finally understood what could happen if I didn't take my studying seriously. I have also had help over the summer learning better control of my emotions and how to concentrate better. You have, no doubt, heard about my duel with the former Minister?" He waited for a nod from the two before continuing, "Well I didn't even give everything I have in that duel. Compared to the opponents I have been practicing against during the summer, Fudge is nothing. If it weren't for the fact that I didn't want my present level of ability to be known by everyone, I could have beaten the Minister in less than a minute, and never even broke a sweat."

Blaise scoffed, "You certainly think a lot of yourself don't you? Practicing against your friends doesn't equal being able to go against fully trained adults."

"True, but once three of my friends together against me couldn't last very long; the level of my opponents was raised to that of Aurors. By the end of summer I could hold my own against three opponents at once who were all of Auror caliber. Blaise, one thing you need to understand about me is that I don't lie or exaggerate. I am not an attention seeker. I would gladly trade everything I have to be a normal kid with a normal life. Unfortunately, I don't have that choice. And since I don't, I figure I should use my position in life to try to help as many people as I can. That is why I'm running this club."

To say the two Slytherins were at a loss for words would have been an understatement. They were completely speechless. They could do nothing more than stand there with their mouths hanging open staring at Harry in wonder.

Finally Millicent shook herself out of her stupor enough to ask, "How did you manage to get good enough to duel against three Aurors at once?"

"That," Harry stated flatly, "is what I'm going to teach in this club. Now as much as I'd like to continue on with our conversation, I really need to get back in the library to show the rooms to the others. Trust me when I say, you're not making a mistake being part of this club."

They all nodded and bid their farewells, then made their way back into the library. The majority of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had made an appearance before dinner time, leaving the rest of the Slytherins and a handful of stragglers from the other houses left to show the rooms. After dinner, the rest of the club made their appearance in the library. Apparently the Slytherins were waiting to get a report from Blaise and Millicent before coming. By the time Harry had made it back to his dormitory, he was exhausted. Who would have thought sitting in the library for two straight days would have been so taxing.


	16. Meeting and Learning

Once again, I don't own anything except the plot and new characters.

Thanks for the reviews. I realize that my updates are farther in between than I had originally hoped, but in order for everything to feel right to me that is the way it has to be. On the review note, Damayanti, Dragonstorm316, harryp123, HermioneGreen, and Wytil; thank you once again for your kind words.

Silver Warrior; Thank you, I really enjoyed coming up with Prof. Smith as well. My wife tells me she reminds her of Neo from the Matrix. Not what I intended but now that I look at it that way I kind of have to agree.

Mwinnike; Thank you; I really felt that Harry was going to need to feel the need to be more inclusive and less judgmental. That, in my opinion, is what has lead to a lot of his problems in the wizarding world. That along with accepting that he could have easily ended up in Slytherin.

Lawrence; Thank you for the very kind words you sent me. On the Ginny/Harry relationship, my thought process is that Ginny really has gotten over her crush on Harry and is content to just be his friend leaving it up to Harry to move it forward. Harry realizes that he feels something extra for her but is still unwilling to act on it. That will eventually change. He may be acting a bit more mature in this story, but in my opinion he is still unsure of himself where relationships with girls are concerned. Also, she is somewhat more removed from the group since returning to school because she is still a year behind the group and in her OWL year. They have different classes and she has quite a bit of homework to do. There will start being more opportunities to have interactions with her starting in the following chapters. I promise. In regards to sharing his wealth with the Weasleys, I do have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to have that play out and can't wait to clear Sirius' name so as to release the funds for Harry's use.

**Chapter 16 – Meeting and Learning**

Monday morning was another early one for Harry. Professor Smith's week long moratorium on Harry's personal training was now over and since they were at school, the real work was about to begin. Harry was to start meeting his trainer in the Room of Requirements at 5 am every weekday. The plan was to continue working on Harry's physical fitness and endurance with intense workouts first thing in the morning.

The door to the room had already appeared when Harry got there, indicating that his trainer had already gotten the room set up. He entered to find the room looking much like a muggle gym. The floor was covered with a thin padded material and the walls were covered with mirrors. Along one wall was a small rack of hand weights that got increasingly heavier as you moved down the line. There were also a couple of different types of padded benches and chairs around the room.

Harry was studying the furniture so closely that he almost didn't notice his trainer in the middle of the open area on the other side of the room. Professor Smith was going through a series of slow and deliberate movements, almost like a dance in slow motion. It seemed to be a much more structured version of the Krav Maga that he and his friends had been learning all summer. The more Harry watched, the more beautiful he thought it became.

"It's called T'ai Chi," said the professor. "It is a moving meditation which I find to be much more invigorating than the sitting form of meditation. It strengthens balance, concentration, and body control. If we'd had more time this summer I would have taught you this as well. But, since our time was limited, I decided against it."

"I gather it must take some time to learn?"

"Yes," the professor chuckled, "You could say that. You can learn the basic movements quickly, but to really get the most effect out of it takes years of constant practice. Most of the muggle martial arts are like that. The Krav Maga I've been teaching you and your friends is really the only martial art that has been developed to be taught quickly. All of the others have a very strict series of levels that you have to work through in order to become proficient. Each level has a specific series of movements called cadas or forms that you have to learn to do before you can move on to the next level along with time frames of how long you have to spend at each level before you can move on. They are very old styles of fighting that were created with discipline and patience in mind. If I had had the time I would have taught you one of those instead because the discipline would have helped you immensely in the rest of your life."

"How many different styles of fighting do you know?"

"I have studied, and mastered, many of them."

"How could you? I mean, if they take years of practice and work, how could you learn so many?"

The professor smiled, "Remember, Harry, I am much older than I look. I need something to do in my spare time between teaching students. Why not learn something new?"

Harry nodded in acceptance, wondering once again just how old the man in front of him really was. This man was really a mystery to Harry. Physically he looked quite young, but once you began to talk to him you sensed a wisdom that would be expected from someone much older, like Professor Dumbledore.

"Now then," Harry was shaken out of his musings as the professor's voice boomed throughout the room, "Let's get to work!"

Harry spent the next two hours learning about his latest form of personal torture. Professor Smith explained the purpose for all of the different benches and chairs and how to use them properly. It seemed that each chair or bench required the use of a different set of muscles used in different ways; when they were combined, one got a very thorough workout. Professor Smith talked about the two basic differing theories of working out. Straight weight training was for building up muscle mass. For this one used heavy weights and lower repetitions. What he intended for Harry to focus on was endurance and cardiovascular fitness, which involved the use of lower weights and more repetitions. The goal was for Harry to become stronger without getting really bulky and losing flexibility or agility.

Harry was more than ready for a break when Professor Smith said, "That is enough for today, Harry. You have done well, and I look forward to the results we can expect from you over time."

"Thank you, sir. I have no doubt that I will make great gains doing this every day."

Professor Smith let out an amused chuckle, "What makes you think this will be an every day activity?" He watched Harry's confusion in amusement before continuing, "This is only your Monday, Wednesday, and Friday activity. Your Tuesday and Thursday activities will involve much more movement on your part."

Harry groaned, "I can't wait, sir." With that, Harry took his leave and went back to Gryffindor tower to clean up and start his school day.

The day passed much like the Monday before, and soon evening fell and Harry found himself standing in front of the first, second, and third year members of his defense club. The young students were somewhat leery of the students from the other houses, even though they had shown their loyalty by signing the parchment. The Slytherins were the most isolated of the group. Harry knew that if his hope for inter-house unity was to have any lasting effect after he left the school that this group of students was the one he had to concentrate on the most.

Harry glanced at Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, who were all there to help him teach the students, and gave them all a wary smile before beginning. "Hello, everyone. Since I'm pretty sure you all know who I am, I would like to introduce you to the other people up here with me. These are my closest friends," he motioned to each one with his hand as he mentioned them, "Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom all Gryffindors from my year. Then we have Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, both fifth years from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw respectively. They will be helping me to teach all of you how to protect yourselves in a fight."

"Notice that I said protect yourself and not defend yourself. I am quite sure that before long you will all be able to duel against each other and do well, but in this time in our world if you found yourselves or your family under attack it most likely would not be from someone your own age. I know for a fact that most, if not all, of you are not going to be anywhere near powerful enough to take on adults for a several years. What we will be teaching you is how to use the various spells you are going to be taught in your classes to help you escape and evade an attack."

Harry watched the puzzled looks on his students' faces in amusement for a moment before continuing. "You see, your professors will teach you how to do spells that have a variety of uses. We will then help you to think of ways to use those same spells to protect yourself. Let's take a simple levitation charm from first year for an example. Now, who can tell me of a way to use being able to levitate something to defend yourself?"

Harry waited expectantly and soon enough one of the second year Slytherins had a hand in the air. "Yes, Mr…?"

"Sylvester Kenway," the young man spoke. Harry nodded for him to continue, "I suppose you could use it to levitate something to block a spell or something like that."

"Yes, very good Mr. Kenway. You are exactly right. As your abilities advance, you will learn to cast shield spells that can help you to block spells and moving objects, but until then you have to use what you know to fill that space. Now, levitating something into the path of a spell is quite difficult to do and would classify more as defending instead of escaping and evading. That spell can also be used to cause a distraction so you can escape. You could levitate a stack of parchments, and then drop them, causing them to flutter all about the room. You could also pick piles or groups of heavier things to drop on top of your attackers to cause confusion. The most important thing to keep in mind is to know your surroundings well enough to use them to your advantage."

"Ok, now we are going to break into different groups. The third years are going to work with Ron and Hermione, the second years with Luna and Neville, and the first years with me and Ginny. What I want each group to do is to work together to figure out ways of using what you already know to help you protect yourselves."

Harry watched as the various groups were formed and noticed that the Slytherins still seemed to feel left out while some of the other students were still not showing signs of trusting them. He sighed and decided to nip this in the bud right now.

"Is there any particular reason that the Slytherins seem to be being left out as a group?" Harry gave everyone a stern look that would have made McGonagall proud. "They have just as much right to be here as everyone else and should be treated well since it's much more dangerous for them to be here. They are all showing a lot of courage by just being willing to be here. If their housemates were to ever find out the cruelty they would have to endure would be terrible."

A third year Gryffindor spoke up, "They're Slytherins. I don't know about everyone else, but all my life I've been told how evil they are. You can't expect someone to just change their beliefs because they signed a parchment."

Harry sent the young man a glare that sent a shiver down the spine of everyone who saw it, "So, just because of the house they were sorted into they must be evil? Has anyone ever actually listened to what the sorting hat says the various founders looked for in their students? Gryffindor looked for bravery and chivalrous behavior. Ravenclaw looked for wits and intelligence. Hufflepuff looked for people who were just and loyal. Slytherin didn't look for people who were evil or wanted to be dark. He wanted students who were cunning and had a nice thirst to prove themselves, at least that's what the hat told me when it was sorting me."

The last comment caused everyone in the room to stare at Harry in wonder. Before anyone could comment Harry asked, "Do any of you consider me to be evil or dark?" There was some quiet muttering along with a lot of heads shaking "NO." "Judging by the shocked looks on all of your faces, I'd guess that it would surprise you to find out that the hat actually wanted to place me in Slytherin to begin with. It didn't because I had been told, like many of you," he looked at Ron, "there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." He turned back to the rest of the group, "Add to that a less than positive meeting with a very stuck up Draco Malfoy and it's no wonder I chose to make the hat choose somewhere else. For a long time, I felt the same way most of you feel about Slytherins, but now I know better. Just because someone is in Slytherin, doesn't mean they will end up being evil, and just because someone is not in Slytherin doesn't mean they will end up being good. In fact, the person who is responsible for sending Voldemort to kill my parents wasn't even in Slytherin. He was a Gryffindor, who also happened to be one of my father's best friends, named Peter Pettigrew."

By the end of Harry's speech, everyone in the room was wearing a look of consideration. Harry had just given them all a lot to think about. "I'm not asking you to be best friends or anything. I simply want everyone in this room to be accepting of each other and their desire to learn to protect themselves and the people they care about. Can we agree on that?"

After waiting for a few moments, the entire group was nodding in acceptance of Harry's request. At least it was a step in the right direction. It was a baby step, but at least it was moving forward. Harry knew he would have to work really hard to keep it going, especially once he started working with the older students. He knew that was going to be much more difficult. But that was something he would have to worry about later, because right at this moment, he had some first years to help.

It took some prodding on Harry's part, but after about fifteen minutes ideas could be heard being discussed from everyone in each group. The students might not like each other but at least they were willing to put aside those differences in order to learn a thing or two. In Harry's group, he made sure to tell the story about him, Ron, and Hermione fighting with the troll in his first year as an example of how a levitation charm can be helpful in a confrontation. Since his group, as first years, hadn't really learned that much yet in the way of spells, they concentrated more on being observant of their surroundings. Harry wanted them to be able to notice when something seemed different to them, because if you could spot danger before it happened you were more likely to keep safe.

Once Harry called an end to the night, he had to be really careful about letting the students head back to their common rooms. He didn't want it to be too obvious, so he had to send them all out in small groups. Harry had just shut the door behind the last of the young students, when the smile faded from his face. He was not looking forward to the conversation that he knew he was about to have.

"So," Ron started, "When exactly were you planning on telling us that you almost ended up in Slytherin?"

Harry turned around to see four of his five friends each standing with similar hurt expressions on their faces. Luna was the only one who didn't look hurt; she simply maintained her usually airy look. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before. To be honest, it's something that I don't even think about that much. The only reason I brought it up tonight was to get everyone to be willing to work together. I needed to make people start to look past what house someone is in and see the person for themselves. That was the only way I could think of to get everyone to open their eyes."

Seeing how sorry he looked, Hermione chimed in, "Harry, it's not that we're mad at you or anything. I think I speak for all of us when I say, I just wish you could have told us before this so we wouldn't have looked as surprised as everyone else. I know you weren't planning to say it in the first place, but it would have been nice to be prepared for something like that."

They all nodded in agreement when Ginny added, "That's why you didn't use yourself as an example at the first meeting isn't it?" When she was met with some questioning looks from the rest of the group she explained, "At the first meeting, when you showed how people have characteristics of more than one house, you pointed out all of us but not yourself."

Harry could do nothing more than nod. This isn't the way he had wanted his friends to find out about his secrets. There were a few more moments of silent pondering before Neville added, "It's all right, Harry. I think everyone has things they never really thought about telling each other. Look at me, I never told you guys about my parents. At first, it was because I just didn't want anyone to know. I thought if people knew, then they might feel sorry for me and only be my friends because they pitied me. I didn't want people to like me out of pity; I wanted them to like me because of who I am. When I ran into you guys at St. Mungo's, I was worried that you would start feeling sorry for me and start acting like you liked me out of pity. I'm pretty sure I was wrong about that."

"Neville," Harry replied, "I knew about your parents before we ran into you in St. Mungo's. I saw the trial of the Lestranges and Crouch Jr. in Dumbledore's pensive in fourth year. It wasn't on purpose, mind you, and I never told anyone about it. Dumbledore told me it was your secret to tell. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I do feel sorry for you. I have never had a chance to know my parents, but I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to be able to see and talk to them and know that they don't really understand who you are." Harry paused and made sure to look Neville right in the eyes before he finished, "I'm not your friend because I feel sorry for you though. I feel sorry for you because you're my friend."

Neville's expression while Harry was talking had changed several times from shocked to upset and finally settled on happy. Before anyone could say anything Harry reached out his hand to shake Neville's and said, "I was wrong about one thing though. Remember back in first year when I said you were worth twelve of Malfoy?" Neville smiled and nodded, "Well, twelve is no where near enough. You're worth a whole lot more. I could never have asked for a better group of friends."

Through the whole conversation, Luna had just stood there silently watching. The look on her face never really changed from one revelation to the next, almost seeming like she knew all of this beforehand. She finally spoke in her airily dreamy voice, "I thought something like that might be the case. Although I thought it might have been that the hat was debating between all of the houses with you." When the whole group looked at her questioningly she continued, "Harry is the only person I've ever met who seems to have the qualities of all four houses. His bravery has never really been in question, and his loyalty to his friends would match any Hufflepuff. Over the last year your thirst for knowledge has really started to grow, although that might have something to do with your destiny. Then lastly, you really are becoming quite cunning and you really do have a desire to prove yourself. So you see, I think you could fit into any of the four houses."

They continued talking for a few minutes more before finally deciding to head back to their dormitories to go to bed. Luna and Ginny left first since it had become obvious to the school that they had become good friends. Since it had become common knowledge that Neville was now a part of their circle of friends, the other four left together in one group knowing that his addition would not seem out of the ordinary.

The rest of the week proceeded as the week previous, with the exception of Potions. Snape it seemed had decided to simply ignore Harry completely. Apparently he didn't take well to being shown up in his own classroom and didn't want to chance it again too soon. Harry and Hermione had come up with a schedule to take turns sneaking up to their secret headquarters to work on the animagus potion for Neville and Luna. They had to time it perfectly so it would be ready by Thursday night.

The Thursday night meeting went quite well. The first thing they did was give Neville and Luna the potion to see what they would be able to become. No one was really surprised by Neville's form of a bulldog, seeing as they are truly loyal and quite loving. Luna was slightly disappointed with her form. She had been hoping to have a form of something you might read about in the Quibbler like a nargle or a crumple-horned snorkack, but instead she had to settle for a barn owl. After they all shared what their respective forms were, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny continued with their study of their own animals while Harry continued to help Neville and Luna learn to meditate and organize their minds.

The Friday night meeting of the defense club convened with much the same division as the Monday one. Blaise, Millicent, and Daphne being the only Slytherins present felt very unwelcome by the rest of the group. Harry and company were the only ones trying to make them feel welcome. Harry knew that this group would be a lot harder to make understand his views than the younger students even though he knew that some of the younger students had told the older ones about what Harry had told them on Monday.

Harry took a deep breath and began, "All right, I'm going to tell you guys the same thing I told the younger students. I do not expect you all to become good friends, but I do expect everyone in this room to treat each other with respect. We may not have the same ambitions or goals or even beliefs, but we are all here for the same reason. We want to learn how to better defend ourselves and the people we care about. I know that many of you don't feel comfortable with Blaise, Millicent, and Daphne being here just because they are from Slytherin. I DON'T CARE! They have signed the parchment which tells me they are serious and can be trusted. If any of you have a problem with this, you may feel free to leave. Just remember that you all signed the same parchment. Even if you decide to leave the same rules still apply."

Harry paused to let this thought sink in then continued, "I'm sure many of you have heard by now about my conversation with the sorting hat in my first year. Yes, it is true. The hat did want to put me in Slytherin, because of my desire to prove myself. I asked it not to and thus ended up in Gryffindor. It has been brought to my attention since then, that if I were to be sorted again the hat would have a few more houses to try to place me in since I seem to have some of the traits of each house. I am only trying to ask you all to look past the color of someone's robes and make your judgment about them based on their actions and accomplishments."

As Harry looked around the room he saw many people with reflective looks on their faces while many other were simply looking at the floor feeling properly ashamed of the way they were acting. He didn't allow them to long to feel bad though because he really wanted to get started. "All right!" He shouted to get their attention once more, "The first thing I thought we would do is see where everyone's ability level is. Once we know how advanced you are, we can move forward from there. In order to see this, I'm going to pair you all up in some practice duels. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna are going to help me judge everyone's abilities. Do I have any volunteers to go first?"

Katie Bell immediately stepped forward followed by interestingly enough Cho Chang. They were actually very evenly matched with Katie just managing to disarm Cho after a few minutes. The rest of the group came forward quite eagerly to show their skills in front of the group and ended up having many exciting duels. The only ones that Harry had truly worried about were the ones involving the Slytherins. They weren't happy about not being able to go against each other, because Harry felt he could better judge them if they went against someone they didn't necessarily trust. His worries, it turns out, were unfounded and those particular duels were among the best of the night.

After the last group went, Harry stepped forward to speak some more. "That was excellent! You all did quite well, although there is definitely room for improvement. While there is some good knowledge of spells and how to cast them, your choice of when to use them and the speed in which you cast them needs work."

Harry was interrupted by a snort of displeasure from Michael Corner, "If you're so good, why don't you show us how it's done then? And why didn't everyone have to do this?" He pointed to Harry's friends as he said the last part.

Harry stared at the young Ravenclaw for a moment before replying, "I don't need to see what level they are at because I've seen them in a real fight personally. They were with me at the Ministry last June when we fought alone against twelve Death-Eaters. I already know what they can do." He paused once again to allow this information to sink in, "As for your first question, I would be more than happy to give you all a demonstration of what I'm going to try to teach you. The only thing I ask is that under no circumstances are any of you allowed to talk about my abilities outside of this room." When he got looks of confusion from many present he clarified, "I do not want my abilities to become widely known outside of this room. The less my enemies know, the better chance I have of beating them."

Harry then looked to his friends, "You guys up for a little workout?"

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny smiled and nodded while pulling out their wands and making their way to the other side of the room. Neville and Luna just stood there not sure what to do until Harry spoke again, "You two, too. They want to see what you guys can do as well. Merlin knows those three could use a little more help against me." This comment brought scowls from his friends and wide-eyed looks from the rest of the room when they realized that Harry was planning to take on five people at once.

Ron called out, "Oy, Potter, you're in for it now."

Hermione quickly called over Neville and Luna. The group got together and hurriedly tried to put together a strategy about how to attack Harry. While they were doing that Harry was placing a shield in place to protect the rest of the group from stray spells. The observers were buzzing with excitement because they could sense that this would be good.

Harry finished up the shielding and turned to face his opponents with a laugh, "The more time you guys spend planning will only make me end this quicker."

The last comment caused Neville to pale considerably and Ginny to scowl one more time. They quickly finalized their plan of attack and spread out to divide Harry's attention. The smile and jovial manner that Harry had been wearing was quickly replaced by a look of intense concentration, causing everyone in the room to be still.

For a few moments, no one moved. It was like a scene out of an old American western movie right before a gunfight. The two sides were having a stare down each waiting for the other to make the first move. Harry determined that the others had told Neville and Luna not to move until they did knowing that Harry liked to take out whoever attacked him first. They also knew that Harry preferred reacting to the others rather than attacking first so Harry knew he would have to change his strategy a little.

Harry quickly decided on a surprise attack. Moving almost to fast to be seen, he fired off a spell producing a brilliant flash of light causing everyone to shield their eyes. When the light died down, Harry was nowhere to be seen. The others quickly started scanning the dueling area to assess the situation. Ginny was the first to realize that Harry had disillusioned himself and decided to start firing off stunners as quickly as possible hoping to make him move. She knew that by moving he'd make noise and the distortion of the charm would give away his movement. Luna and Neville quickly joined in and soon multi-colored jets of light were flying all over the room.

Hermione was the first to spot the distortion of Harry's charm. She launched her own stunner at him, causing him to break the charm and fire back. At this point all of the combatants were moving around the area casting spells at one another. Harry was mostly casting shields and conjuring walls and other objects to block the spells. While his attackers were definitely on the offensive, Harry had yet to cast a single offensive spell. What he was doing, though, was causing the others to begin to get frustrated especially when he started conjuring multiple items to hide behind at once. He'd conjure multiple walls and then disillusion himself and move to a different position before reappearing and doing it again. After ten minutes of this, Harry finally went on the offensive and quickly stunned Neville, Luna, and a very surprised Ron. Ron had actually been his first victim, which is why he was surprised.

Realizing that their advantage of numbers was severely reduced, the two remaining witches pressed themselves to their max. Harry was back to defending, but was very calculating about his movement. Soon a smile could be seen crossing Harry's face, causing the two witches to get very uncomfortable. They had both become so intent on trying to subdue Harry that they hadn't realized that they were now almost exactly opposite each other in the room. Before either had a chance to realize it, they both shot a stunner at him which he quickly ducked causing them to pass each other in the air where he had been standing. They quickly moved to keep from being hit by each other's spell, only to run into an expelliarmus from Harry. They both sat on the floor shaking their heads at their friend standing in the middle of the once again bare room holding both of their wands with a huge smile fixed on his face.

Harry tossed them back their wands telling them to go revive the others while Harry turned back to face the spectators. "Does any one have any questions about my ability to protect myself?" He was met with absolute silence and a lot of shaking heads. "I assume that my friends have proved their worth as well?" More silence and nods of agreement. "Good. Now that we are done playing, it's time to get to work."

The rest of the night was spent discussing the spells everyone had been taught and how to use them in a duel. They also learned that they would not only be learning how to fight but how to avoid a fight as well. Harry knew that not everyone would be able to fight like he and his friends so he wanted them to learn how to escape and evade as well. By the end of the night, the inter-house rivalry that had existed at the start had all but disappeared. The non-Slytherins were actually impressed with the knowledge and insight that the Slytherins possessed. Harry could tell that some of the misconceptions between the houses were starting to fall, and that thought made him smile. He thought there just might be hope for the wizarding world after all.


	17. Halloween Happenings

Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter done. I had to try it a couple of times in order to get it to flow the way I wanted it to. Now that the groundwork has been laic the story can finally begin to move along at a bit of a faster pace. I will try to keep the following chapters coming a little quicker than this one took.

To my reviewers; thank you for your kind words. They are very encouraging.

Once again, I own nothing but the plot and any characters I create.

**Chapter 17 – Halloween Happenings**

By the end of the third week of term, Harry had gotten used to arising before the rest of the inhabitants of the school would even think of stirring. His body continued to protest at the constant pushing of its limits, but Harry could begin to feel the differences his working out all summer was making. The Krav Maga had built his stamina and toned his muscles somewhat, but it was only noticeable when Harry was unclothed. Adding the weight training was simply working to increase the amount of muscle he had to tone.

The previous week, Harry had quickly learned exactly what Professor Smith meant when he had said that the Tuesday and Thursday workouts would be much more active. The sight that had met Harry in the Room of Requirements on that first Tuesday was as interesting as the weight room appearance it had taken on on Monday. The room had expanded to a size larger than the great hall and resembled the outdoors. It was a lightly wooded area with a well worn trail through it. All along the trail were fallen logs, makeshift walls, patches of water, and various expanses covered with ropes both high in the air and low to the ground. Harry quickly learned that this was called an obstacle course, so named because he was supposed to make his way down the trail by going over, under or through the various obstacles in his way. Apparently, the professor had gotten this idea from the muggle military and their training methods.

Harry had barely made it a quarter of the way through the first time when he realized that getting through the course was not going to be as easy as it seemed. He was in the middle of crossing a patch of water by way of fallen log when he was hit by a Jelly-Legs Jinx. He pulled himself out of the water a few moments later to see the smirking face of his professor with his wand in hand preparing to fire again. Harry quickly realized that this was more an exercise in thinking on your feet and learning to sense danger than simply getting through the course. By the end of the training time, Harry had memorized every obstacle on the course and was actually looking forward to his next training session. That thought had been short-lived, however because upon entering the room on Thursday he was faced with a completely different course. The object was the same - it was simply a different venue in which to practice.

The main difference about school this term, that Harry noticed the most, was that the classes seemed easier to him. The level of work and expectations were higher, but it was coming to him much easier. His teachers noticed this as well and he was quickly beginning to challenge Hermione as the best student in the year. They were beginning to work on human transfigurations with Professor McGonagall, and charms to change ones appearance with Professor Flitwick. Professor Sprout was covering some of the most dangerous plants they had ever had to deal with. They were down right deadly, but were ingredients in some of the most potent healing potions that could be brewed.

Harry and his friends arrived in the great hall for breakfast on Friday morning to find the professors at the head table looking somewhat pleased. It wasn't until Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet arrived that they figured out why.

**_Amelia Bones Appointed as New Minister of Magic_** was the headline across the top of the front page. Apparently the Wizengamot had decided that rather than go through the process of a full election in the middle of a wizard war, they would appoint Madam Bones to the position until the war was over for the sake of uniformity. She had been doing a lot to clean up the corruption in the Ministry and get things moving against the Death-Eaters since she took over as interim Minister.

"I think that's a good choice," Harry said, "She will take a rather hard-line stance against the Death-Eaters. Although I still think it would have been wicked if your dad could have gotten the position, Ron."

"Yeah, that would have been good," Ron replied, "but I'm pretty sure that dad wouldn't have really enjoyed it much. He likes his position too much to leave it. Besides, how many other people do you know who would care as much about dad's position as he does?"

Ginny smiled as she chimed in, "Yeah, dad loves muggles and finds everything about them fascinating. He wouldn't really be happy anywhere else."

Hermione let out a soft chuckle and added to the conversation, "Well, I think you guys should read a little more of this article then. It seems your father has been offered a promotion to a newly-created position. He's now an assistant to the Minister and is in charge of everything relating to muggles. He still gets to work with muggle things, but he gets paid a lot more."

Hermione's words prompted Ron to freeze like a deer caught in the headlights, while Ginny dropped her fork and quickly grabbed the paper away from Hermione to read it for herself. Harry, Hermione, and Neville couldn't help but laugh at the two redheads antics. Ginny had soon begun to laugh with the rest of the group at the continued surprised look on Ron's face. They all realized that the Weasleys' burden of not having much money was about to lighten considerably. They wouldn't be rich by any means, but they would be able to afford a bit more luxuries in life like no more second-hand things. They should at least be able to afford new books next year instead of the usual used ones.

The only people in the great hall who seemed upset by the article all sat at the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy looked the angriest of them all. Harry assumed that he was hoping for a minister who would be easier to buy like Fudge had been. Malfoy was obviously realizing that his money wouldn't get him very far with the new minister. Malfoy happened to catch Harry's gaze and gave one of his usual scows to which Harry simply smirked and raised his glass as if to say 'I won that one!'

Harry was brought out of his gloating by a slight twinge in his scar. "Tom must know about the new minister." Harry's voice held a small amount of amusement as he spoke, "He must really be mad if I can feel it now. I haven't felt anything since the attack on the alley."

His friends all looked at him uncertainly for a moment but quickly decided that he was truly OK. Hermione was about to say something when she saw Harry look toward the head table and nod almost imperceptibly to the headmaster. When she looked at the head table, she could clearly see the headmaster smiling with the twinkle in his eyes going full force. It was almost as if he was telling Harry, 'Job well done!'

By the next week, it was obvious to everyone just how unhappy Voldemort had been with the appointment of Madam Bones. By Tuesday night he had already made an attempt on her life but had been unprepared for the increased security measures that had been put in place on both the ministry and her home. She escaped unharmed but a few Aurors had unfortunately been killed.

Attacks against average citizens and muggles had begun to pick up as well. They happened at random all over the country. One night the target would be a wizard home in Scotland and then the next night there would be an attack on some unsuspecting muggles in Wales. There appeared to be no pattern to the attacks nor was there any warning. It was almost as if Voldemort was simply throwing a dart at a big map of the United Kingdom and wherever it hit was where they would attack next. Professor Snape was no help since he was apparently not privy to any information about the attacks for fear that Dumbledore would find out.

The increase in attacks had a two-fold effect on the inhabitants of the castle. For one thing, Harry's study of spells and such was increased ten-fold. Every waking moment apart from mealtimes was spent studying spells. And then there was the increase in the number of students signing up for the defense club. The reality of the situation clearly was sinking in - survival was becoming a key focus. There were so many younger new students that Harry was compelled to recruit experienced members of the DA from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff to help with the young kids on Monday nights.

By the middle of October, Harry couldn't have been more pleased with the way school was progressing. The defense club was thriving. There was still an occasional confrontation between the Slytherins and members of the other houses, but they were usually stopped quickly by a penetrating stare from Harry at the offender. The students were really advancing well and some new friendships were beginning to grow.

Quidditch practice was getting better every week too. The chasers were coming together nicely and the beaters had improved greatly over the summer. It seemed that Sloper and Kirke had been practicing a bit since they were aware that they would be playing again this year. The most noticeable improvement was in Harry though. It seemed that all of his extracurricular training was not only improving his dueling but his quidditch as well. The training on the obstacle course had him so aware of his surroundings that the longest it would take him to spot the snitch was now five minutes and the bludgers could never get close enough to him to worry anyone.

"Blymie, Harry!" Ron exclaimed after their most recent practice, "If you can be that fast in a game, there's no way we'll ever lose."

Harry shot him a wry smile and replied, "Well, I don't want to run the risk of you reverting back to your form from last year. I'd hate to have to listen to another rendition of Weasley is Our King." Then before Ron could reply, Harry ran off to the castle laughing heartily at his joke. The rest of the team also began to laugh as they caught the look of mock anger on their captain's face and headed off as well.

The Saturday before Halloween arrived announcing the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. The third years and above were chattering merrily during breakfast about how they were planning to spend their day. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were planning to head to town together. Ginny was going to spend the day with Luna and some of her other friends. They all planned on meeting up in the Three Broomsticks toward the end of the day for a butterbeer before returning to the castle.

As the four sixth years were finishing their breakfast, Harry noticed Ginny and Luna leaving the great hall together. Upon seeing this Harry felt the now familiar feeling of loss in the pit of his stomach whenever Ginny went off without the rest of the group, or more precisely, without him. He had come to the realization that he cared a great deal about Ginny, but had decided that he needed to concentrate on his task first. He didn't want to risk getting into a relationship with anyone until Voldemort was gone in case he wasn't successful. Plus, with all of his studying there wasn't really any time for anything else anyway.

Harry had decided the best course of action was to hide those thoughts and feelings as well as possible to allow everyone else to get on with their lives. Unfortunately, Harry wasn't as skilled at hiding his feelings as he would have liked to be. There was always a flicker of his feelings before his mask would come into place. What Harry failed to take into account was the observation skills of a certain bushy-haired brunette. As Ginny was leaving, Hermione watched Harry and as usual noticed the emotions flicker across her friend's face for a moment before they were once again gone.

Moments later, the four friends got up from the table and began to make their way to Hogsmeade, as Ron grabbed one last piece of toast. Once they were out the front doors of the school, they began to discuss where they would be going today.

"First stop is definitely Honeydukes," announced a very excited Ron. "After all, we need to stock up on our sweets."

The group of friends laughed and Harry added in, "We should make a stop at Zonko's as well." When he noticed the questioning looks on everyone's face he added, "We might as well check out the competition for Fred and George. You never know what they might come up with. I figure I should at least try to protect my investment."

Hermione shook her head and turned to Neville, "What about you, Neville? Is there anywhere you would particularly like to go?"

Neville simply shrugged, "Wherever you guys want to go is fine with me. I'm just happy to get out of the castle and relax for a little while."

They spent close to an hour in Honeydukes leaving with a considerable amount less in their moneybags. They then proceeded on to Zonko's, however they didn't get a chance to go in. When they arrived, the shop was locked and boarded up tight with a sign on the door saying, _Out Of Business_.

"Well," exclaimed Harry, "Looks like the twins' shop did more damage to their business than we thought."

"Too right, it did," replied Ron. "I'll have to send the twins an owl about this."

"Where to now?" asked Neville. "Is there anything anyone needs from Dervish and Banges?"

Hermione piped up, "Oh, yes. Harry and I need to pick up a few things for potions that we didn't know we would need before school started." Her expression made it clear to Harry that his agreement was advisable. "Why don't you two head to the Three Broomsticks and get us all a table while we get our stuff? It shouldn't take too long."

They both looked to Harry who shrugged and nodded before agreeing and heading off. Once Harry and Hermione were alone, Harry turned to Hermione, "What's going on? It's obvious you want to speak to me alone. Well, we're alone now, so?"

Hermione motioned for him to follow her into the wizard supply store, "What's going on with you?" Harry was caught completely off guard by this question. "I've noticed the way you look every time Ginny leaves the room. It's only there for a moment, and most people probably don't even notice, but I do." Harry was looking decidedly pensive at the moment causing Hermione to continue, "You know what I think? I think you fancy her." As Harry blushed, she smiled and continued, "That answers that. So why don't you do something about it?"

Harry held up his hands in a placating manner and finally found his voice, "OK, Hermione, you're right. I do feel something for her, but like you said last year, she's moved on. Besides, I've already decided that I don't have time to carry on a relationship with anyone right now. Voldemort is getting stronger and attacking more. I need to spend every moment I can trying to learn what I can to beat him. Once he's gone, I'll worry about a relationship."

Seeing the frown that had developed on her face, he continued, "Besides, if he found out I had a girlfriend, who exactly do you think would be right at the top of his list to attack? Anyone who was going out with me would be first on his list of people to kill or better yet capture. You forget how well he knows me. Remember, I led five of my friends into an ambush to save my godfather. You know as well as I do that if whoever I was dating was taken captive that I would do whatever I had to to save her. I don't want him to get that kind of leverage on me, so no - I won't act on my feelings for anyone, especially Ginny. She's suffered enough at his hands."

Hermione continued to frown, "Just because she moved on doesn't mean she wouldn't say yes to you, but I do see your point. I won't push the issue and I won't tell anyone else. Just for the record though, I think you're wrong and should pursue the thought." She looked around the store for a moment, "Well, I guess we should find something to buy so our cover story isn't blown."

They quickly found something that would pass for a necessary potion supply and headed off to meet their friends. They found Ron and Neville talking quietly at a large table back in the corner of the pub and joined them. They all talked quietly about their progress with their animagus forms and the extra spells they were working on, occasionally stopping to acknowledge another friend or two as they entered the pub. About an hour later, Hermione noticed a quick smile grace Harry's face as Ginny and Luna entered and made their way over.

Since Ginny and Luna had been accompanied by a few of their friends, the conversation turned to the happenings of the day, then to the upcoming Halloween feast, and before long quidditch. More specifically, the first match of the year that was to take place the following week, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Their conversation on this topic became quite spirited and loud causing much of the rest of the pub to join in with the playful banter. Soon enough, Ron was informing the members of the Gryffindor quidditch team that it was getting close to time to head back to the school for their weekly practice session. This caused a few groans from the Gryffindors and a lot more chuckles of amusement from the members of the other houses. Everyone bid their farewells and made their way back to the castle having enjoyed the relaxing day off.

The week carried on much the same as the prior ones causing Harry to slip back into his normal routine, until Wednesday. All day he had been feeling slightly off. Something just didn't feel right. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something was bothering him. As the day wore on, the feeling only got worse and by the time dinner rolled around he couldn't really stand the feeling of foreboding that was engulfing him.

"Harry," Hermione appealed, "I really think you should tell Professor Dumbledore. I don't think it's something that should just be ignored. If it was just a passing feeling I wouldn't be worried, but this has just been getting worse all day and now it's showing in your face. I think this might be something important."

Harry looked at this friends and the looks on their faces showed that they agreed with Hermione. "OK, I'll talk to him after dinner. I'm just not sure what to say. I don't know why I'm feeling the way I am, but I can't shake the feeling like something big is about to happen."

After dinner, Harry caught Professor Dumbledore as he was leaving the great hall and they made their way to his office. Upon entering Dumbledore asked, "So, what is bothering you, Harry?"

Harry met his professor's gaze and began, "Well, sir, all day I've had a strange feeling like something is going to happen. This morning it wasn't very strong and I just shrugged it off, but the feeling has been growing stronger as the day has moved along. I just can't help but feel that Voldemort is planning something big. The only problem is that I just can't figure out what."

"That is very interesting, Harry. Have your feelings been accompanied by any visions or any other sensations?"

"No, sir. It's just the feelings. Do you think he might be trying to send me visions again?"

"Alas, Harry, I do not know. It might be he is simply trying to open his connection to you again, but I fear that it is, in reality, the fact that he is planning something. As you know, tomorrow is Halloween and that is a day that he seems to enjoy wreaking havoc on our world." The headmaster sat in silence for a moment, "I'm afraid there are far too many targets that he would enjoy attacking to raise extra security without any more information."

Seeing Harry's downhearted look he smiled and continued, "I will of course inform the Minister that she should be prepared for a large attack tonight and then we will hope for the best. Thank you, Harry, for coming to me with this. Hopefully with this information we will be able to keep any damage that might occur to a minimum. Do not concern yourself with this anymore, Harry. You have done all that you can for tonight. Let us worry about what happens from here."

Harry nodded his agreement, "Thank you for listening to me, sir. I hope that I'm wrong and this is just my fear playing tricks on me. Please promise me that if anything does happen that you will let me know." After seeing an affirmative nod in response Harry continued, "Goodnight, Professor."

"Goodnight, Harry. Try to get some sleep."

Harry smiled sadly, knowing that sleep would not come easily tonight, and left the office with a wave at the headmaster. Upon returning to the common room, he filled his friends in on the conversation he had just had with the headmaster. After a few minutes of contemplation, Harry decided it was time for him to at least attempt to get some sleep. He headed off to his dorm and was soon followed by his other dorm mates.

Harry tossed an turned for what seemed like an eternity and had just began to hear the snores of the other inhabitants of the room when his scar tinged again and the feeling of foreboding was replaced by a feeling of elation. Harry's fear increased, whatever it was Voldemort had been planning was now over and, if the feeling he felt now was any indication, it was a success. After that, Harry fell into a very restless sleep.

The next morning, Harry awoke feeling a bigger sense of dread than the day before. It wasn't because he felt like something was going to happen, like yesterday. No, today it was dread at finding out exactly what happened last night. Pushing those feelings to the back of his mind, he got up and headed for the room of requirements for his daily workout.

Upon entering the room he was surprised to find it was set up as a simple sitting room today. There were two plush armchairs facing each other each flanking a fireplace with a fire crackling softly. Professor Smith, who was seated facing the door, motioned for Harry to sit in the other chair. Once Harry was settled, the Professor began to speak.

"Harry, I thought that today we could just talk for a while, especially after what happened last night."

"So, something did happen last night then?"

"Yes, Harry, I'm afraid so. Professor Dumbledore tells me that you came to him last night with a warning about something happening. Could you tell me a little more about that, please?"

"Well, like I told the headmaster, all day yesterday I felt something odd. In the morning it wasn't more than just a weird feeling that I blew off, but as the day progressed the feeling got stronger and stronger. By last night I identified the feeling as anticipation. I realized that I was probably feeling Voldemort's emotions and I thought it meant he was planning something big."

The professor nodded, "I know you told Professor Dumbledore that you didn't see any visions to go along with these feelings. My question to you is, did you try to see anything?" Seeing the confused look on Harry's face, the professor continued, "What I want to know is, once you decided that these feelings were from Voldemort did you think about trying to see if you could see what he was doing?"

"No, sir. If I had tried, wouldn't that have given him access to my thoughts as well?"

"Not necessarily. You see, your mental shields are strong enough to keep anyone out of your thoughts so long as you are making a conscious effort to keep them up. If you could have opened up a link to Voldemort he would not have been able to get back into your head as long as you were making an effort to keep him out."

"Are you saying that you think I could push through his shields to see his thoughts?"

"Eventually, yes, I do think you could. Right now, probably not. Your ability with Legilimency is still new. Although you can access the thoughts of someone with whom you have eye contact, I do not know whether you would be able to access Voldemort's over the connection through your scar. However, you never know what will happen until you try."

"How would I do that?"

"I believe that if you were to concentrate on the emotion and then bring up your exercises in Legilimency that it would simply be a matter of power to complete the connection. Now, Harry, this is something I would only recommend that you try if you truly feel comfortable and confident in your ability to do so. If there is any question in your mind, then do not even attempt this. Will you promise me that?"

"Yes, sir. I promise." Harry paused before asking the question that was at the forefront of his mind. "Sir, could you please tell me what happened last night?"

Professor Smith took a deep breath and looked Harry directly in the eyes, "Azkaban has fallen." This announcement made Harry's mood darken even more. "It seems that the Dementors decided it was time to return. They apparently came with some Death-Eaters and freed all of Voldemort's supporters. By the time the backup from the ministry arrived everyone who was either not a supporter or of no use to Voldemort had been killed. Most of his supporters had already left. What few that were left fought admirably enough to escape as well, except one. He is now in custody and being questioned extensively under veritaserum."

Harry groaned, "Was there anyone I know there?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt was there. He had been sent by the Minister to check up on things. He put up quite the good fight from what I've been told."

Harry sighed, "So, everyone who was caught at the ministry in June has escaped?"

"I'm afraid so." Professor Smith studied the young man before him for a moment before continuing, "Do not worry on this, Harry. There is nothing you can do to change what has happened, nor was there anything more you could have done to prevent this from happening. All you can do is to continue your studies and prepare for the future."

With their conversation finished, the room quickly changed to the ever changing obstacle course and the daily training began again. The biggest difference in today was Harry seemed to have developed an even stronger resolve to improve. There were a couple of moments when he actually went on the offensive against the professor, causing the older gentleman to smile at the improvements of his student.

Ginny was the first to notice Harry's somber mood upon joining his friends in the common room later, "What's up, Harry? What happened?"

Harry sighed and replied, "Voldemort attacked Azkaban last night freeing all of his supporters and killing everyone else."

Ron responded, "Oh no! That means Malfoy's probably going to be extra smug today since his father is now free."

Hermione noticed the continued look of depression on Harry's face, "I can tell by the look on your face that there's more. Who was there that we know?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt." This pronouncement brought silence to the group. After a few moments Harry added, "There's nothing we can do about it now. Let's go get some breakfast. I'm sure the Daily Prophet will have a few articles about the happenings of last night to give us more information."

The group agreed and made their way to the great hall for breakfast. Upon entering the hall, everyone noticed the subdued mood at the head table, especially of the staff in the Order. It was obvious that most of the students had not been informed of the events of last night yet because they didn't seem to understand what was wrong with the professors. That all changed once the post owls arrived with today's editions of the Daily Prophet.

_**Azkaban Attacked**_

_Late last night, You-Know-Who made his boldest move to date. His forces assaulted Azkaban prison releasing all of his supporters and killing any who tried to stand in his way. It seems that all of the random attacks up to this point were designed to weaken the ability of the Ministry of Magic to respond by spreading out the Auror forces across the country. The relatively small force of Aurors responsible for guarding the prison were no match for the overwhelming size of the attacking army of Dementors and dark wizards. The names of the fallen are being withheld until the next of kin have been notified._

_Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, when asked to comment on the attacks said, "I am deeply saddened by this attack. I knew many of the witches and wizards lost in the attack personally and promise that I will do everything in my power to bring their attackers to justice." She would not go into detail when pushed for more information on how she was going to stop the attacks by You-Know-Who, but would only say that there were plans being implemented to step up the war effort soon._

_There was one very surprising development brought out by this attack. One of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers was captured during the attack. What is surprising about this is that this wizard was believed to have been dead for the last fifteen years. The wizard in question, one Peter Pettigrew, was declared dead after witnesses claimed he was cornered and killed by Sirius Black after You- Know-Who's first defeat. It is uncertain how it is that this wizard was not killed and where he has been hiding for the last fifteen years, but it is believed that those answers shall be provided after he has been questioned under the use of veritaserum._

That was all of the article that Harry read. He was stunned, Peter Pettigrew had been captured. There was a chance that Sirius could finally be found innocent. There was finally an opportunity for the man responsible for his parents' deaths to be brought to justice. Something positive had come out of the attack. Harry wished that the deaths could have been avoided but was somewhat happy about this new development. The knowledge that the truth about Sirius and his parents' deaths could soon come out gave Harry a new found hope to a positive conclusion to this war.


	18. Lions, Snakes, and Snitches, Oh My!

Hello, again. I know you were all probably thinking I gave up on this story due to how long it took for me to get this chapter done. I assure you that I have not. I ran into a very severe bought of writers block and found a new level of respect for J. K. Rowling. I also agree with her about having difficulty writing quidditch matches. That was where I had my problems.

Thanks again for the reviews, I appreciate them greatly.

Once again, I don't own anything but the plot and new characters and am making no money from this.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 18 – Lions, Snakes, and Snitches, Oh My!**

Harry left breakfast with mixed emotions. He was happy that Sirius' innocence might finally come to light, but was saddened by the loss of life in last night's attack. He was also feeling a little angry at the fact that all of Voldemort's supporters were now out of their confinement and back working for the snake. These overwhelming feelings caused him to once again thank Merlin for his lessons over the summer. If it hadn't been for his new found mental abilities, he would have been absolutely failing most, if not all, of his classes. His ability to organize his mind had advanced to the point where he could set aside his emotions for a time to concentrate on his class work, for which Professor McGonagall was quite grateful. She was extremely pleased with his new found abilities allowing him to excel in her Transfiguration classes.

Soon enough, it was time for lunch, which brought with it another surprise. As the students were packing up their things from Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall called out to Harry, "Mr. Potter, could you stay for a moment?"

Harry waited for the room to empty before heading up to the professor's desk. "What can I do for you, Professor?"

"Mr. Potter, the headmaster would like you to join him in his office for lunch." At Harry's confused look, she continued, "The minister is here and has some things she would like to discuss with you. The headmaster thought this would be the best way to have that meeting without drawing too much attention." She smiled at the continuing perplexed look on Harry's face, "He thinks the last thing you need right now is more rumors flying around about you, much less the fact you are meeting with the minister. I think it's safe to assume that there are some people who would be rather unforgiving on that subject."

Harry nodded in agreement, "I assume they're waiting for me now?"

"Yes, the password is Ice Mice."

Harry quickly made his way to the headmaster's office, making every effort to not be seen. Since he was expected, he decided not to bother knocking once he reached the office. He entered the now very familiar room and went directly to the only empty chair. "You asked to see me, sir?" he asked as he took his seat.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Thank you for coming. I assume Professor McGonagall informed you of the reason for this meeting." Upon seeing Harry nod he motioned toward the minister and continued, "Minister Bones has some information she would like to share with you."

Harry looked toward the minister as she began, "Hello, Mr. Potter. I could have sent an owl with this information but felt it would be better received if I delivered it personally. You are aware of the events of last night, are you not?" She paused long enough to see him nod, "I must say, it was quite a surprise to bring a supposedly dead wizard into custody. However, that was nothing compared to the information we received during his interrogation." She paused once more, this time to gauge his reaction which was eerily stony. "Mr. Potter, I am afraid that we at the Ministry owe you an apology. It seems that two years ago you were proclaiming the innocence of Sirius Black for the crimes he was imprisoned for and that the Ministry at that time did not believe you. Due to the information provided by Mr. Pettigrew, I must say that you were quite correct and am pleased to tell you that an announcement proclaiming Mr. Black's innocence will be printed in the Prophet's next edition."

"I am also pleased to inform you that Mr. Pettigrew has verified your story from the end of your fourth year in regards to the happenings during the Tri Wizard Tournament. That information will also be reported in the next edition of the Prophet."

She paused for a while this time, being unsure how to continue gently. "Mr. Potter, I believe now I must offer my condolences. It has also been brought to my attention that Mr. Black was a casualty during the break in at the Ministry in June. I am aware that he was your godfather and have been told you had become close to him, I am deeply sorry for your loss. I realize that money will not bring him back, but the fact remains that seeing as he is now considered a free man his vaults at Gringots are now available to be passed on to you as his heir."

Harry sat in stunned silence for a moment. He had been expecting something like this since he had read the article that morning, but the fact that the minister had come to tell him in person was a little overwhelming. Once he gathered his thoughts, he replied, "Thank you for coming to tell me this in person. As difficult as it is for me to be reminded of his death, I really appreciate the fact that the truth will be coming out."

The minister smiled, "It's the least I could do, Mr. Potter. I realize that you have been treated quite unfairly by the Ministry for the last couple of years due to the actions of my predecessor and feel that this is just the beginning of my attempts to make up for it."

Harry cut her off before she could continue, "Minister Bones, I appreciate the effort but you don't owe me anything. I don't hold the actions of the Ministry over the last couple of years against you. That was between me and Mr. Fudge and I believe that we have taken care of that issue quite effectively." They all smiled at the memory of Fudge losing the duel to Harry over the summer.

"Nevertheless," the minister continued, "Mr. Potter, I still feel that the Ministry owes you an apology for the way you have been treated and would like to offer whatever help I can give if you ever need it."

Harry was about to refuse the favored treatment when a thought hit him, "Minister, if I were to give you a note authorizing you to make a purchase for me, would you be able to do something for me quickly?"

"That depends on the request, Mr. Potter."

Harry quickly conjured a parchment and quill and began to write a note, catching both the minister and headmaster off guard. It wasn't that he was making a request that caught them off guard or even that he conjured the parchment and quill. It was the fact that he conjured them without an incantation or even bothering with much of a wand movement. The two adults shared a look of amazement before schooling their features as Harry finished his note and handed it to the minister.

Would you be able to make that purchase for me and have it sent to Professor McGonagall's office by lunch tomorrow?"

Minister Bones read the offered parchment, her eyes widening as she read. "Mr. Potter, you do realize that this will cost quite a bit of money?"

Harry shook off the comment, "I'm not worried about the cost, I just want to know if you can do it?"

She reread the parchment, "By tomorrow at lunch?" Seeing him nod she finished, "Yes, Mr. Potter, I believe that I can accomplish that. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Harry thought for a moment then shook his head, "Minister, the only other request I have of you is to keep doing whatever you can to stop Voldemort and his followers. You've been doing good things at the Ministry and I just want you to keep up the good work."

The Minister smiled before standing up, "Very well. I suppose I must be going if I am going to get this transaction completed in time for your deadline. It was a pleasure speaking with you Mr. Potter, and you as well Professor Dumbledore. Good day, gentlemen."

Harry smiled and nodded, "Good day and thank you again Minister Bones."

The headmaster finally spoke again, "Yes, Minister, it was good speaking to you. Have a wonderful day." Once the minister had left, the headmaster turned a questioning eye to Harry, "That was a very interesting request you made, Mr. Potter. You do realize that your actions could be received as somewhat stuck-up, do you not?"

Harry shook off that notion quickly, "Don't worry Professor, I will be making more purchases like that in the future but this one had to be done before this weekend. I am willing to do the same thing three more times, so long as the other students abide by a few rules beforehand." At the headmaster's questioning look he continued, "Inter-house unity has to start somewhere Professor." They shared a smile before Harry took his leave.

Harry made use of every shortcut he knew trying to get to the Great Hall quickly. He needed to talk to Ron about his plans right away. He slowed and calmed himself as he reached the hall so he wouldn't bring any extra attention to himself upon entering. He headed straight over to his friends at the Gryffindor table and seated himself next to Ron.

"Ron," Harry started, "You need to book the pitch for lunch tomorrow and tell the team to meet in McGonagall's office at the start of lunch." Noticing the strange looks he was getting from his housemates, he added, "I'll explain tomorrow, just do it."

Ron made to question but that thought died as he took in the determined look on Harry's face and knew that asking questions was pointless. "Alright, I'll do it now."

As Ron ran his errand, the rest of Harry's friends looked on with a mix of amusement and curiosity, wondering just what could be so important that Harry would insist on Ron doing something in the middle of his meal. They continued to look at the extremely pleased look on Harry's face as he watched Ron complete his task and found themselves even more curious as they saw the pleased look on the headmaster's face as he entered the hall and headed to his spot at the head table.

No questions were asked for the rest of the day, even though the suspense was extremely uncomfortable. At breakfast the next morning, at least some of Harry's good mood was explained with the arrival of the Daily Profit.

_**Sirius Black, Innocent of All Charges**_

That was the headline on top of the front page. The article went on to explain the true events of the night Harry's parents were killed and the following day. That wasn't the only information in the Prophet either. It seemed that Pettigrew actually knew a lot about the organization of Voldemort's forces and the identities of many of his supporters who had not yet been named and captured. That combined with the renewed twinging in his scar gave Harry the impression that Voldemort was once again quite displeased with events.

Looking around the hall, Harry couldn't help but notice the varying range of emotions on the faces of the various inhabitants of the castle. They ranged from astonished and pleased to absolutely livid. All of the really angry faces belonged to various students at the Slytherin table, most notably to Draco Malfoy. His father had been listed as a staunch supporter since almost the very beginning of Voldemort's first rise to power which caused the Ministry to freeze all of his assets. Harry thought it was quite ironic that their situations were quite the opposite now, Harry had access to an obscene amount of money while Malfoy would have to begin buying second hand things. He couldn't help but smile at that turn of events.

As Harry continued to scan the hall, he caught sight of Professor McGonagall and remembered that he still needed to notify her of the quidditch team meeting that was due to take place in her office at lunch time. He quickly excused himself from the table and made his way to where his head of house sat. She gave him a rather curious look which he shook off as he returned to his seat. She looked over to the headmaster to see if she could get more information only to be met by those rather irritating twinkling eyes of his. She quickly realized that she would just have to wait to discover what the surprise was until lunch.

As Harry was returning to his friends, he saw that Hermione was about to comment about the paper. "Yes, Hermione, now that Sirius has been cleared of all charges his accounts are now accessible to me. That is why I was late to lunch yesterday. I was being informed of the new status of things in the headmaster's office." Before she could comment, he added, "We'd better be heading off to class. I wouldn't want to keep Professor Flitwick waiting."

By this time most of the people in the hall had noticed Harry's almost gleeful behavior and were all wondering just what was making him so happy. They had all become used to the constantly angry and brooding Harry from the last couple of years and to see him happy was just weird. His friends just shook their heads as they stood up to follow him off to class wondering if he might have finally fallen off of his rocker.

Charms class couldn't have gotten over soon enough and once it was Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione quickly made their way to McGonagall's office. Even though Neville and Hermione weren't on the quidditch team they were allowed to be in the meeting because they were so curious about what Harry was up to. They entered to find a very shocked Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, What…"

Harry cut her off, "I'll explain as soon as the whole team is here. Can I assume by your expression that my surprise has arrived?" All she could do was nod. "Excellent!"

Soon enough the rest of the team was assembled, with Katie arriving last, "Alright Weasley, what is so important that we need to miss out on lunch today. I thought we all agreed that we were prepared well enough for the match tomorrow."

Ron replied defensively, "Don't blame me for this. Harry's the one who asked for this meeting and practice."

At this point all eyes turned to Harry. "Well, I guess that's my cue." He turned to Professor McGonagall, "Professor, after learning of my new financial status yesterday, I decided to do something to help out the house here. Would you please get out my surprise?"

She shook her head in amazement, "Very well." She then pointed her wand at a stack of long thin boxes standing against the wall behind the students. She levitated them over to her now-empty desk, laying them side by side. Once they were all settled, Harry vanished the lids, leaving the contents open for everyone in the room to see. What was inside caused the mouth of almost every person in the room to drop open in shock. Inside the boxes were brand new broomsticks. Not just any broomsticks, but Firebolts. Gleaming Gryffindor-red Firebolts with gold lettering on the handle of each one saying Gryffindor followed by each position.

Katie, Andrew, Jack, and Natalie looked about ready to cry tears of joy. Ginny and Ron on the other hand seemed to be trying to decide between amazement and anger. Harry began, "Yes, those are brand new Firebolts, and they are for the Gryffindor quidditch team." Seeing Ron about to object, Harry continued, "As you can see by the gold lettering on each broom, they are not for you personally. They are a gift from me to Gryffindor house for the quidditch team to use for quidditch only. Ron, I am not trying to flaunt my money in any way. I couldn't care less about my finances and you know it. I did this because I love to fly and play quidditch and I want to share with my friends. Besides, I heard from Professor Smith that in the United States people will do things like this for their schools all the time."

Professor McGonagall interjected, "This is a very generous gift, Mr. Potter, but I think the members of the other houses might feel the same way everyone felt about Slytherin when Mr. Malfoy bought his house top of the line brooms."

Harry smiled and shook this comment off, "There is a big difference between the two instances. Malfoy did it to get on his house team and try to show up the rest of the school." Harry could see the protests arising and continued, "These brooms are for the team, whether I'm on it or not."

"What do you mean, whether you're on the team or not?" Ron interjected, "Why wouldn't you be on the team?"

Harry looked at Ron with a somewhat sad smile, "Ron, in the five years I've been here, how many times have I actually gotten to play for a full year? I know that the seasons being canceled in second and fourth years weren't my fault, but the fact remains that of the five years I've been here only once have I been able to play for the entire year. Last year we were lucky that Ginny, Andrew, and Jack were able to come in on short notice and play as well as they did. This gift will make anything like that a little easier to handle, if it happens."

Having heard the whole explanation, Ron and Ginny finally began to grin like the rest of the team. Ron shook his head in amusement, "So this is the reason you wanted me to book the pitch? You wanted us to get some practice in on the new brooms before the match tomorrow."

"Right in one, oh captain of mine. I also thought if we got comfortable on them quickly enough we might change our strategy for the match a little."

Ron's curiosity was peaked, "What kind of change?"

Harry smiled and held up a hand, "Let's see about getting comfortable on these brooms first and then we can talk about that."

Ron agreed, "All right team, out to the pitch for practice."

Once they reached the pitch, everyone was very quick to get in the air. Katie, Ginny, and Natalie grabbed the quaffle and began to pass it around and work on some of their maneuvers to see what difference the faster brooms made. Ron, Andrew, and Jack just flew around for a few minutes to get used to the speed the new brooms were capable of. Harry couldn't help but smile at the pure joy that the other members of the team were feeling.

Once the chasers seemed comfortable with the change in speed, Ron had them try some shots on goal to test him some and a little bit later had Jack and Andrew start sending bludgers into the mix to get everyone up to speed. It was quickly apparent that the new brooms improved the quality of their game a lot. The chasers could get through their moves faster and crisper. The beaters could track down the bludgers in less time and maneuver to send them more accurately. Ron's reaction time defending the goals was even more pronounced than the others. All in all, if anyone were to look at them on the pitch they would only see seven red blurs streaking to and fro.

After their practice, they moved into the dressing rooms to discus some new strategy ideas. Harry started, "Alright guys, I think instead of me finding the snitch as quickly as possible, I should shadow Malfoy and allow you guys to score as many goals as possible until he spots the snitch. If they happen to be able to keep us from scoring much or score on us a lot then I'll end the game before it's too late."

"Why?" Katie was asking, "Why put off catching the snitch?"

Ron had cottoned on to Harry's thinking, "The bigger points lead we can build up, the safer we'll be in the later matches if we happen to lose one. The more points we can get, the better our chances at keeping the cup."

There was a round of nods and smiles as everyone agreed with the new strategy. Feeling better about their chances for the cup this year, they headed back up to the castle to clean up and prepare for their afternoon classes. Throughout the rest of the day, there were lots of questions floating around the school about the last minute Gryffindor Quidditch meeting and practice. What was interesting about this event was that, unlike other events, this time the secret remained just that, a secret. Slytherin wouldn't know what hit them tomorrow.

Saturday morning found the entire castle abuzz in anticipation of the upcoming match. The Slytherins were their same surly selves, trying everything in their power to get under the Gryffindors' skin. The fact that their attempts at intimidation were being completely ignored just caused them to try that much harder. Malfoy and his cronies were by far the worst offenders, most likely due to the fact that they made the mistake of mouthing off in front of Professor McGonagall and lost their house 20 points each.

Soon the team members found themselves sitting in the changing room awaiting the start of the match. The pressure of his first game as quidditch captain had finally caught up with Ron as was evidenced by his pacing back and forth in front of the entrance. He seemed to be struggling to come up with what to say to the team. As captain, it was his responsibility to prepare and motivate the team to do well. However, his brain seemed to be frozen at the moment.

Ron finally seemed to get his wits about him and turned to face the team. He could see the nervous yet excited energy that most of the members exhibited. Well all of the team actually, except Harry. Harry was exuding a quiet confidence and calmness that Ron was starting to find somewhat contagious. His nervousness was soon transformed to his own minor confidence, which in turn was passed on to the rest of the team.

Finally, Ron found the words he wanted to speak, "All right team! This is the day we've been training for. We know what our strengths are and how to make up for our weaknesses. We've got the best team in the school and the best brooms too. We know our plan and know we can rely on each other to do our jobs. Now let's go out there and show the rest of the school that we don't plan on giving up that trophy this year, and if any one wants to take it from us, they have their work cut out for them." Ron's confidence grew as he spoke and by the end the entire team felt unstoppable. They let out a collective cheer as they stood and made ready for the match.

As they stood near the entrance to their changing rooms, they could hear the restless milling of the students and professors in the stands all around them. Soon they found themselves shooting out onto the pitch as though shot from a gun, seven red blurs soaring around the stadium eliciting cheers and looks of wonder from the assembled mass of people.

Harry didn't think he could feel any better then he did right at that moment, with the wind whipping his hair and whistling in his ears. Up in the air was where he felt the best as if nothing could affect him, or control him. Up here was where he had the control of his life and he realized for the first time that this was the feeling of true freedom.

As the teams took their positions for the start of the match, he began to actually listen to the things being spoken around him. The first thing he deciphered was the mutterings of the few people who had figured out what his gift to the team was. He next noticed the amplified voice of Brock Gilbert, a fourth year Hufflepuff, who was the new announcer since Lee Jordan had finished school last year.

"Yes, I believe they are!" Brock exclaimed, "Those look like brand new custom Firebolts the Gryffindor team is riding this year. On brooms of that caliber, they will be quite hard to beat, if they can control them that is."

Harry rolled his eyes as he tried to tune out the commentator until the match started. He made eye contact with Malfoy and had to try very hard to suppress his smile as his blond nemesis became aware of the new brooms. The look of utter loathing on Malfoy's face was almost enough to match the looks Harry received from Snape. The only thing that kept it from being as good was the fact that there was a look of fear mixed in with it. Harry knew that Malfoy had figured out he was in very deep trouble today. His teams Nimbus 2001s were no match for international standard brooms.

Suddenly, Harry's world changed as a whistle sounded and at once fourteen brooms shot into the sky and the match began. Harry quickly began to shadow Malfoy while vaguely listening to Brock comment on the game. He was glad that the headmaster had seemed to find a replacement that was both excited about the game and fair in his reporting of it. He smiled as he heightened his senses and began to feel everything around him. He could almost close his eyes and still navigate around the pitch with full knowledge of where everyone and thing was at all times. Within one minute he had picked up the location of the snitch and began to track it while annoying Malfoy by not seeming interested in finding it at all.

By the ten minute mark, Harry could see the frustration and understanding on Malfoy's face as he picked up on the Gryffindor strategy. Gryffindor was already up 100 to nothing and didn't seem to be about to let up any time soon. Thus began the Slytherin team's descent to dirty tactics. The unfortunate thing for the Slytherins was an inability to account for the speed of their opponents' brooms, meaning their dirty tactics were far too slow and ill-timed to have any effect.

Malfoy had become more noticeably haggard and distraught as the match wore on, finally causing him to lash out at Harry, "Enjoy yourself while you can, Potter. The Dark Lord's ranks are growing and soon he'll be coming for you."

"Let him come then," Harry replied, "I'm getting tire of waiting for him to get brave enough to try again."

Malfoy shot Harry one of the most severe glares he could manage, "The next time you meet him, he'll finish what he started when you were a baby. You're through!"

Harry shrugged him off, "Yeah, yeah, like I haven't heard that one before. I'll believe that when I see it." Harry then got very serious, "Next time you talk to your father, have him give Tom a message for me. Tell him that I'm not the helpless little boy he dueled two years ago anymore, and the next time I meet him I plan to finish him!"

Before Malfoy could respond to that, Harry shot off in the opposite direction. He felt he had taunted the Slytherins enough - it was time to catch the snitch! By the time Malfoy registered what was happening, Harry was circling the Gryffindor goal posts clutching the snitch with his fist raised in victory. He had allowed the Gryffindor chasers to score 300 points before grabbing the snitch, meaning they won 450 – 0. The Gryffindor supporters had erupted into cheering while the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses applauded politely yet unenthusiastically. They knew that this Gryffindor team would be impossible to beat with those new brooms and didn't relish the prospect of playing them.

Malfoy sensed the unease of the crowd and decided to play it up, "What's the matter, Potter? Didn't think your team was good enough to win on their own so you had to buy new brooms? Have to buy your victories now?"

Harry smiled and replied, "Not at all, Malfoy. I simply wanted the rest of my team to feel the joy I feel when I fly on my own Firebolt. The fact that it made beating you a little easier was just a wonderful side effect. Besides, I think the fact that Gryffindor has beaten Slytherin every year I've played against them shows that it's not the broom but the player that makes the difference."

By this time the entire crowd had quieted to listen to the exchange between the bitter rivals. Harry took this opportunity to push his plans to action, "In fact, I'm willing to prove it." He cast a quick sonorous charm on his voice, casing it to boom out across the stadium, "As everyone is no doubt aware, I have purchased new brooms for the Gryffindor house team. They are a gift from me to the school because I know how much I enjoy flying on them. I am prepared to do the same thing for all of the other houses. Of course, your brooms will be the appropriate color for your own houses."

The reaction to this was a stunned silence. Harry smiled and continued, "Yes, you all heard me correctly. I will supply each house with identical brooms, so long as a few conditions are met." The silence was now absolute. "The fighting between the houses needs to stop! The sorting hat has been telling us that we need to unite and work together and up until now that hasn't really been happening. Well, I think it's time to push the issue. So long as there is no open hostility from one house to another, I will be more than happy to make everyone equal."

There was a lot of excited muttering going on now. Many of the other quidditch teams were already contemplating the thought of flying on their own Firebolts and smiling avidly. Malfoy decided to break in again, "So all we have to do is be what Potter wants us to be and we can have new brooms? I suppose you're going to find reasons not to pay up on your promise."

Harry shook his head and continued, "If it is decided that the houses are not instigating hostilities toward each other then I will gladly pay up on my promise."

"You say that as if you aren't the one who is deciding." Was the reply from Cho Chang the Ravenclaw seeker.

Harry shook his head, "I will only be one voice of many. I was hoping that I could get the Headmaster's help on this part." He turned to Professor Dumbledore, "Professor, would you be willing to have all of the teachers and the head boy and girl work with me to determine which houses are worthy of this gift?"

Professor Dumbledore answered with his ever-twinkling eyes, "Are you sure that you would be willing to accept their judgment in this?"

"Yes, sir. As long as there is actual discussion and no overwhelming objections. But there is one more thing," and at this he turned to look directly at the potions master. "These rules are to apply to the staff as well as the students. There is to be no evidence of favoritism or antagonizing from any member of any house toward each other unless provoked."

If Harry had thought that he had seen the most hateful glare from Professor Snape before, he was very wrong. The look of disgust the potions master wore now was worse than ever before, which just made Harry smile a bit more. One way or another he was going to break down the barriers that separated this school. Professor Dumbledore on the other hand was smiling not unlike the cat that just ate the canary. His admiration for his pupil's efforts was growing more everyday.

"Very well, Mr. Potter, we shall begin discussions at once to make some assessments on this matter." Then turning to the rest of the students, "Well this has been an eventful day. I believe it is now time to retire back to the school." And with that, the assembled mass began to make its way noisily back to the castle, wondering what the results of the upcoming meetings would be.


End file.
